Ties of Fate, Binds of the Heart
by twilightprincess219
Summary: One girl surrounded by darkness, trying to see the light. The other surrounded by light, brought into the darkness. Can either of them achieve what their hearts desire? OCxRiku OCxMarluxia.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok so I know I have a lot of stories that need worked on, but I find that starting other stories helps me work on my other ones. And my friend 4thespada-ulquiorra and I decided to start a Kingdom Hearts story. So I really hope you like it cause we really like writing it!!^_^**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

A girl stared out the window of her room, into the black darkness of the world around her. Her topaz colored eyes were filled with longing, longing to get away from this place. It wasn't that she didn't like it here, this was her home. She was just sick of it being dark all the time. She wanted to see other worlds, meet other people. Other people who might actually like her, unlike the ones here.

"Lexi, Xemnas wants to see you."

The girl turned to the person in her doorway. "What for Xigbar?"

"Don't know." Xigbar said shortly, and the girl sighed standing up.

"Alright." She smiled slightly and followed the older man down the hall.

Lexi was a sweet girl, around 16 years old. She had beautiful topaz eyes, and medium length white hair that was up in a ponytail. She wasn't very tall, only about 5' 4", and she didn't really fit in with the others around here. Lexi wasn't really a Nobody, like the other Organization members. She was only a half Nobody. That's because her father fell in love with a normal person-though how that happened, she still didn't know, since Nobodies can't really feel emotions. Her mother had died after giving birth to her, and she's been living with her father ever since.

Finally after a few minutes of silence, Xigbar opened a huge white door and walked in, Lexi following right behind. He walked up and stood in front of a few other people wearing black cloaks, the same as Lexi and Xigbar. "Xemnas."

The man in the middle turned swiftly. He had long gray-ish white hair, and the same color eyes as Lexi. When he saw her, a small smile appeared on his face. "Ah Lexi."

Lexi smiled slightly. "Hello Father. Xigbar said you wished to see me?"

"Correct. We were just discussing a problem that we would like you to clear up. Saix." Xemnas nodded at his second in command, cuing him to explain.

Lexi turned her gaze to where the Luna Diviner sat, and nearly shrunk back under his resentful stare. While most of the other members disliked her, Saix seemed to hate her very being (or whatever semi-being she may have). At least he was bearable while Xemnas was around, but that look never left his eyes.

"There is an impostor who has taken to wearing our coat. Roxas failed to bring him down, so it is up to you and Axel to take over the mission." Saix explained, his voice cold. "The target is powerful, so caution is essential."

Lexi snuck a glance at her friend and found him smiling at her in his usual confident way. Obviously the threat of a powerful target didn't faze him too much. After returning the smile, she shifted her gaze back to her father and chose her next words carefully before speaking up.

"I'll do the mission, of course, but if I may ask...Father, why summon me just to pass on orders?" Not to mention he had gathered some of the other members as well.

Xemnas' mouth twitched into a half smile at his daughter's careful tone. "There is more. I had hoped to tell the entire organization, but as Demyx, Zexion, and Luxord have yet to return from their missions they can be informed later." He paused and scanned the crowd before finishing. "Kingdom Hearts has appeared to us."

There were some sharp intakes of breath and a few confused glances between the younger members, Lexi being one of the former. If Kingdom Hearts had appeared in the sky, then it was much closer to being completed than they had thought before, at least halfway. No doubt this was thanks to Roxas, but other than Lexi and Axel grinning at their friend, he received no recognition from the other members.

"Therefore," Xemnas continued over the conversations that had started up throughout the room, "I expect your performance on missions to improve from now on, and there will be more work assigned as well."

Lexi nodded, willing to take the extra work for more time outside of the dreary white castle. This mission to hunt down the impostor would have been fine-since it was bound to take awhile-if it didn't involve killing someone who could be nothing more than a skilled fighter with a liking towards trench coats. Still, she knew better than to refuse her father's orders, and waited patiently for Axel as they were dismissed and the members began to clear out.

"Be careful now. We wouldn't want Daddy upset if anything happened to his little girl." The voice-and its taunting sarcasm-was all too familiar to Lexi. She turned around to face Larxene-and Marluxia beside her-with what she hoped was nothing more than a mildly agitated expression.

"My father has nothing to worry about. Well, at least not with me anyways. There is an issue that's been bothering him...something about some suspicious activity at Castle Oblivion." She pretended to think it over, noting it when the Nobodies paled slightly. This was a little meaner than Lexi preferred to be, but Larxene tended to get on everyone's nerves when she wanted to, and even when she didn't.

No. XII narrowed her eyes slightly, but was cut off by Marluxia before she could speak up again. "Those plans never went through, something you well know."

"Xemnas still wouldn't be happy to hear that he was right about his suspicions, now would he?" Coming up behind Lexi, Axel sounded amused. "Maybe I'll actually be allowed to do my job this time."

Roxas, with his best friend of course, nodded his agreement. "And taking every opportunity to bother Lexi won't inspire her to cover up for you guys again, if it would even work a second time around."

Lexi watched to see if there would be any more trouble, and Larxene had even started to snap a comeback back at them when Marluxia snapped at _her_ to be quiet, then turned and left. The blonde girl glared at his back, but it seemed even she knew when it was a better idea to stop, because she followed after shooting the trio one last nasty look.

"What a way to thank you for saving their asses back at C.O. I still say you shouldn't have made up all those excuses for them." Axel complained, turning back to his friends after the pair had left the room.

Lexi gave him a smile that was both patient, and grateful. "They wouldn't have been able to do anything, and I didn't want them to be killed."

The amount of trouble she'd gone through with convincing her father had almost not been worth it, but it wasn't like anyone else would (or could, for that matter) get that group off the hook, so she put up with it all.

"I don't know, it's pretty tempting sometimes." Roxas mused in a mock-serious tone. "I'm pretty sure nobody would complain. I know I wouldn't."

"Yeah, can't you just tell your dad you were wrong or something?" The puppy-dog look Axel gave Lexi was almost convincing. If he weren't a Nobody she might have fallen for it.

She pretended to think it over for a few seconds, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Weeell... maybe, if you're a good boy." She teased, reaching up to pat him on the head.

The momentary laughter that followed halted as a blue-haired figure approached their little group. "If you have time to waste with foolishness, it is better spent on your assignment. Set out if you are prepared." Saix snapped, directing this more at Lexi than either of her friends.

People seemed to enjoy sneaking up on her today. "I just have to gather a few things from my room, then I'll be ready to leave." Trying to ignore the man's rough tone, she inclined her head in a semi-respectful gesture, hoping he wouldn't take it as sarcasm.

Axel, for his own part, didn't waste time with things like that. "Fine, fine. We'll leave soon, so don't go getting your panties in a bunch."

Saix's expression darkened further, but he didn't say anything about it. "Don't take your time." He snapped, heading back inside to speak with Xemnas once the three had started to walk through the hall.

Sighing, Lexi's gaze turned towards the ground. "He really hates me, doesn't he?"

"Don't take it personally, he's just a naturally annoying person. Like some Oscar the Grouch werewolf cross-breed." Axel said, smiling slyly at his friends.

Roxas covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. "Don't let him hear you say that."

The taller boy just waved it off indifferently. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"No…." Lexi agreed with a bright smile, "but what he _does_ know might hurt _you_."

"... That is true." Axel admitted, shrugging again. "So I'll just stick with the not letting him find out thing."

She laughed again, pushing aside her worries about the Saix problem for the time being. If she was going to have to stress herself out by fighting some possibly-innocent 'impostor' soon, she may as well enjoy the time beforehand.

* * *

Worlds away-and that is meant quite literally-a girl of about 17 years sat on the branch of a low tree atop a miniature beach-side 'island', swinging her long legs and watching the sun set. She hummed to herself with mild amusement, brushing back some of her chin-length black hair that had fallen loosely in front of her too-white skin, and wondering how someone could possibly find amusement in this. Her cream-white, almost colorless eyes scanned the beach for a familiar face, but saw nobody who would be any use in clearing away her boredom.

Looking down, she noted that the lack of company on the beaches below was most likely a good thing. The red dress she was wearing didn't exactly cover a lot of skin, and the usually mid-thigh length garment had pulled back up to about 7 inches below her hip when she had sat down. Not that too much exposure was really a problem in her book, but that and the low-cut chest-which showed off what was plenty obvious already-did tend to get her into some trouble with the adults. It was like all the material had been taken from her mostly bare back and thin straps and used to make the ridiculous black bow strapped around her waist.

"Kurai!" Hearing her name, the girl turned around to watch a teenage boy running towards her from the direction of that 'secret' cave a little ways off the beach. His spiky brown hair wasn't really affected by the windy weather, and his blue eyes were as bright as ever.

Kurai forced herself to smile upon seeing her friend. Really she was wishing for some alone time, or maybe just time without Sora, almost anyone else wouldn't have been so bad. "Hey. What do you want?"

Used to the careless phrasing of her words, Sora didn't react to what some may consider a rude tone and simply slowed his pace to join the older girl. "Have you seen Riku around?"

"You talk to him more than I do. Haven't seen him in like two weeks. Did you check that Radiant Gardens place yet? Or maybe he's off wasting time and talking with that mouse again." Kurai shrugged it off and began turning back to watch that dull sunset again.

"I tried. Leon, Mickey, Cloud-none of them have seen him." Sora complained, drawing her attention back to him. "Do you think he might be in trouble?"

"We're all in trouble, at least until those heartless clear out. At least _he's _got that cheap-ass darkness stuff." She grumbled, tone resentful as she thought of all the advantages to having an element that stayed the same. "He's probably just pulling off another vanishing-act moment. Did you seriously run all the way here just to ask about that?"

"It's not like it's not a big deal." Sora sighed, but went on anyway, "and no, I actually didn't. Do you want to come check out Radiant Gardens tomorrow? Leon thinks we should check out that old castle. He and Cloud keep finding swarms of heartless nearby."

Kurai thought this over, weighing the lure of fighting against the downside; having to put up with Cloud, Leon, and probably those annoying girls Yuffie and Tifa. "Who else is coming?" she asked at last, figuring that for her this would be the deciding factor.

Sora beamed, for some reason seeming to take that as a yes. "Cloud, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, Riku if we can find him, Tifa, Kairi, and I think basically everyo-"

"Count me out." Kurai sneered, lip curled in as much distaste as her tone implied.

"Come on! Why not?" he sounded disappointed, and somehow surprised. Did he really not expect that reaction?

Rolling her eyes, she put her hands on her hips and continued in an impatient tone. "Because that list included Kairi, who apparently has yet to take my advice and leap off a cliff." Maybe she should try pushing her.

"That's unfair, Kairi's really nice!" He protested, as always defending his pathetic little girlfriend who had yet to do anything useful with her life. "What have you got against her anyway?"

"She's an annoying little wannabe brat who doesn't seem to realize that she's not only weak and really whiny, but that she's nowhere near as pretty as she thinks she is." A tinge of color began to take over the usually stark white pupils, leaving a barely noticeable bluish undertone. "Plus, she'll only get in the way. You're better off leaving her here. Actually, take her, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll die."

"Kurai!" Sora sounded less angry than he probably would have been normally. This was a conversation they'd had more than once, but it rarely caused enough genuine annoyance or stress to trigger water.

"'Kurai' nothing. If she goes I stay, if she stays I go. Simple as that, and don't pretend you weren't looking for an excuse to keep her out of the danger." Kurai dropped off the branch and landed cleanly on the sand, leaving a deep imprint of her feet where she hit the ground. "She probably wouldn't have the time to summon that prissy keyblade before you got her out o' there. Tell 'em I wouldn't let you bring her, not the first time that's happened."

It was true, oddly enough. It wasn't that Kurai literally forced her to stay behind, more like nobody wanted to leave her when there was the other option available. Plus, she was right that Kairi usually got sent home before the first heartless showed up, whether she liked it or not, so refusing not to bring her meant two allies out of the fight instead of just one. Though the younger girl was never happy with being sent home, and even less so being told not to come along at all.

Sora knew all this, and he was always eager to change it. "She'll want to come; I can't just tell her we won't let her!"

Shrugging, Kurai started to walk past her friend and off the platform of the land. "Then don't. I can't put up with that much idiocy. Yuffie will be bad enough, so I just won't go."

"Jeez, you're like a little kid!" Sora whined sounding resigned.

Smirking back at him over her shoulder, the blue left Kurai's eye as the annoyance passed with it. "See ya at the castle."

* * *

"You know, I've never actually been here at night before." Axel mused, mostly to himself, as he surveyed the dark streets of Twilight Town. "I like it better during the day."

Looking around at the sleepy town, Lexi could see why her thrill-seeking friend might not like it. "Really? I like it, it's kinda nice." That, and the fact that every darkness user preferred the advantage of night life.

Aware of this, her companion shot her an amused look. "Right. Don't get used to it, because the minute we find this guy things are gonna get crazy."

"How did he get one of our coats anyway? Come to think of it, I've got no idea how Father gets them either." She hadn't really thought about it before, but she couldn't imagine Xemnas in casual clothing buying a bunch of trench coats from some tailor.

Apparently, neither could Axel. "We don't question these things."

Lexi smiled and nodded quickly. "Agreed." Though in all honesty she was tempted to ask her father about it once they returned to the castle.

They found nothing in the sandlot or the tunnels, and the station plaza was empty too. By the time they'd run back and forth through the back streets a few times she was beginning to think they should have brought Zexion on this mission (to use that creepy power where he smelled people or something. Weird, but effective.) After checking a place called Sunset Hill, and some out-of-the-way place with some beaten up couches and a dart board, they doubled back to re-check an intersection that led to most of the town and contained one of their favorite ice cream shops, which was closed at the moment.

"Dammit, this place is huge." Axel complained as they walked along. "Come on, we've still got to check a few places."

Lexi nodded and took one step to follow before she whipped around and threw one of her razor-sharp fans into the shadows nearby. It didn't hit the target she'd sensed there, so she had it fly back to her in a stream of darkness. Axel recovered from his confusion and showed a quick blast of flame in that same direction. Whoever it was-and the fire made it easier to tell-was wearing their coat, and he rolled out of the way quickly to dodge the fire. He didn't summon a weapon like she'd expected, so he probably wasn't looking for a fight, which didn't make her feel much better about the mission. It didn't appear to bother her partner, whose chakrams were ready and aimed.

"Hey there. Any reason you're dressed like one of us?" Axel asked, though it was probably more procedure than actual curiosity.

The boy didn't answer, and even with the hood hiding his expression Lexi could tell by the way he tensed up that he'd noticed who they were. Without a single word he spun and dashed towards the train commons.

"Hey!" Axel shouted after him, sounding annoyed now. "Come on, Lexi!" They ran after the impostor, who was almost down the slope that led to their 'destination'.

Lexi knew now that this wasn't just some guy who'd seen the uniform and decided he wanted one, or he would have explained himself by now. At least they weren't chasing down some innocent bystander.

"He's pretty fast." She complimented, a little surprised.

Axel nodded reluctantly. "They should've sent Larxene." he complained, though the two of them were plenty fast themselves and their target was never out of their sights as they pursued him through the streets.

Eventually he turned a sharp corner and ran straight for a moment before fleeing through a large gap in the wall. They came through into a small forest-which made Lexi wonder how people had gotten through there before the wall broke, since she could see a house nearby- and she nearly panicked. It wouldn't be too hard to hide here, even if it was a really tiny forest. However, the boy didn't swerve behind a tree or any of that, and was already running out the other side once she and Axel had taken a quick moment to look around.

"Jeez, it's like playing a game of tag." Axel sighed, though he looked more worked up than annoyed.

"... Tag, you're it!" Lexi nudged her friend's shoulder playfully and set off before he could tag her back, trying to resist the urge to laugh.

The game was short-lived-though it did continue through the entire run through the tiny grove of trees-because as soon as they entered the clearing with that mansion they saw the impostor, with a weapon at last. An interesting weapon.

"You've got a keyblade?" Lexi wondered in surprise. Though the weapon was nothing like the ones Roxas used, it was still unmistakably one of the special blades that collected hearts.

Instead of honoring her question with its obvious answer, he stated a different equally obvious fact. "You're not Roxas. They usually send him."

"Don't ask me, I don't give the orders." Axel shrugged. "Why'd you finally stop running?"

"Didn't want to draw attention in the town." The boy replied, a problem they hadn't thought about themselves until now.

"And once again, why are you wearing our coat?" Lexi cut in, hoping it would be something simple that would let them take off without having to hurt him.

"You don't need to know that." Not a useful answer, but the best she should have expected.

"True, we don't." On that note Axel threw his first chakram, coated in fire, and attacked with the other-still holding it-when that was deflected.

The guy deflected the chakram back, and Axel's arm with it, then swung his keyblade, which was blocked by the first chakram, sent flying back to its master in wisps of fire. Lexi watched the two clashing with each other-neither getting much lead on their opponent yet-and calculated the impostor's strength. He seemed to be pretty good, and there was a chance he would probably be able to beat either of them on their own. But Lexi and Axel were a practiced team, and he didn't stand too much of a chance against the two of them together.

At her command the shadows around the boy began to shift, cuing Axel to throw both flaming chakrams at once. The impostor had to jump back while blocking because of a fireball that nearly burned his feet. Lexi spun up behind him and let her fans grow huge, blowing a gust of wind at the boy's back. Wind filled with shadow that morphed with her help into the shape of giant hands that snatched at the boy. Usually she managed to catch the person here, but the shadows grip kept faltering, so Axel jumped in with their plan B. He set a ring of fire around them, surprising the boy further, and threw a chakram way off course. Once the two were at it again Lexi leaped up and blew the weapon back at the impostor, now not just covered in fire but blended with some shadow as well. Still dealing with Axel, the strange boy barely noticed the chakram before it grazed his shoulder and returned to its master.

The cut was shallow, but it drew blood and let Lexi's darkness seep into his body, which was all she needed. Before her attack could start the boy had whirled around when he felt the chakram cut him, and the sudden movement knocked off his loose hood to reveal his face. The light didn't allow for details, but it was easy to see his long, wavy, silver white hair, pale skin, and a blindfold hiding his eyes from Lexi's view. She faltered for a moment at suddenly seeing his face (he could have been her age!) but the shadow's possession didn't. As always it took barely twenty seconds for the boy to completely freeze up, and another two or so for his expression to darken when he caught on. From here, Lexi could make him do anything she wanted, short of talk, but with Axel there it was safest just to hold him still and let the other member do his job.

_Sorry..._ She would have liked to say it out loud, but hopefully her expression conveyed the message.

"Man, what are you on kid?" Axel rolled his shoulders and rubbed his arm with the hand that wasn't holding his weapon. "I'll be feeling that in the morning. Anyway, you've got one last chance to tell us why you're wearing that."

The boy remained quiet-not unexpected- but from what Lexi could tell he didn't seem too worried, even with Axel spinning the chakram as if he was testing how best to throw it. THAT was unexpected. No matter how good of a fighter he was it wasn't like he could dodge when he couldn't move. It was when Axel was already pulling his arm back to attack that something else unexpected happened-

The impostor resisted.

It wasn't like no one ever did, but this boy _really _resisted. Most people tried to force themselves to move, while the boy worked on the darkness and seemed to push it out of his body. Caught off guard, Lexi stumbled back in surprise and her possession faltered enough for him to break free. Axel hadn't noticed-the boy still hadn't moved-and threw his weapon at the exposed area of his back. There was some pretty obvious shock involved when it met the keyblade instead.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to die here." The impostor said as he opened a dark corridor and vanished before they even had time to recover.

"What the hell just happened?" Exclaimed Axel, turning sharply to face Lexi. "You _let _him go?"

"No! He just…he broke it. That was the first time anybody ever used darkness back at me." Lexi stammered, staring at her hands as if she expected her power to be vanishing from her. "I wasn't ready for it."

Still apparently frustrated, her friend shook his head and dismissed the chakrams. "Then be ready to fight it back next time around. Oh, dammit! Now I've got to put up with Saix whining again!"

* * *

"There's nobody there, idiot." Kurai snapped, unaware that her words were quite true in a different sense. "Can we just go in already?"

Yuffie shot the other girl yet another angry look. "I swear I saw someone! Just because you never pay attention doesn't mean I don't! So shut it, melon girl!"

"Melon-?! Is that the best you can do, shrimpy?" Being tall did have its advantages sometimes, though it sucked when you were taller than the guys. (Luckily some of the boys here were practically giants.)

"Guys, cool it! This is a town; somebody probably came to see what the giant castle in the distance was all about. We just have to make sure we kill the heartless fast then, if people are coming near here." Leon snapped before the two could really get at each other's throats.

Both girls brightened at the killing heartless concept, so the subject dropped for the time being. Truthfully, Kurai figured people would come by all the time, but she wouldn't agree with that ninja brat for anything. She was almost worse than Kairi, but just _almost_.

"Good, then lead the way, Sora." Kurai grinned sarcastically at her friend. "You're the only one who's been here before, or at least searched it enough to be of any use."

Rather, the only one who's searched it thoroughly to everyone's knowledge. But finding out that she had been along, as one of the people trying to _stop_ Sora, would have been bad. Things all worked out though, so they figured it was better to keep things quiet about that.

"Okay, I'll show you that weird chamber that took me to the fake Ansem last time. Though that portal thing probably closed when we defeated him." Muttering a few of the directions under his breath as he walked, the boy was no longer up for conversation. Not that they could blame him, the entrance had had way too many doors, and further in things got even weirder.

"Can you imagine having to deal with all these ridiculous puzzles every time you come home?" chuckled Kurai as they waited for poor Sora to work with some books in the library that he swore must have moved back on their own.

"I doubt it was part of the design, Maleficent must have added a lot." Cloud muttered, ruining the girl's attempt at a joke.

She glared at him for a moment, about to tell him that she'd obviously known that, when finally a group of heartless appeared in the room. "Here we are." She smirked, unstrapping the two handed axe from across her back. It was huge-impractically so-but also very pretty. Most of it was black, but the metal was marked with veins of white all around the double edged blades.

"Decided to drop in then?" Tifa smiled excitedly, taking the swarm of Wyverns and Darkballs as a welcome sign.

They'd already set up what to do, so the three girls stayed behind to fight for now, while Sora and the other boys kept working at the castle's tricks. Tifa, Kurai, and Yuffie had no trouble with a few heartless anyway, and while the boys wouldn't admit it, they probably didn't want to get too close to any of them while a fight was going on.

Each of the white marks on the axe had already taken on a blaring yellow color, as had Kurai's white pupils. Lightning. "Duck guys!" Giving them just enough time to register the warning, she raised the axe high above her head and cast a reckless thundaga that hit a lot more than just heartless.

"Cool it with the zapping!" Yuffie complained, popping up from under the desk she'd used to avoid poorly controlled magic.

In a way of answer Kurai stuck out her tongue and used the axe-shaking with electric current-to block a wyvern's claws. "If you duck when I say to you'll be fine."

"That's not the point, Kurai." Tifa sighed, blasting a dark ball into the walls with her she-hulk fists. "It's not something you use in a room full of people you _don't_ want to hit."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Uninterested in the discussion, the black-clad man gave up his post and stopped watching. Even if he did have to report that someone else had slain his targets, the good news would outdo that. After all, not every day that a non-keyblade released hearts from the heartless.

* * *

"Oh man, he seriously broke it?" Roxas shook his head sympathetically. "Sorry, I guess I forgot he could use that stuff."

Lexi shrugged softly, less upset that she'd failed the mission than she was embarrassed about Saix's not so well disguised insults afterward. "It's fine. I'll just be more careful if I get sent after him again."

"Count me out. If I have to deal with that guy another time I'll jump off the clock tower." Axel grumbled. "First time he actually fought though. Never did when I was with Roxas."

"Sounds weird to me. Why not at least say why he dresses like us?" Demyx wondered, strumming contentedly at his sitar.

"I wonder what his name is…." Lexi asked of no-one in particular. The images of his face flashed through her mind; even in that lighting he had been gorgeous.

"Doesn't matter, does it?" Something about Axel's tone made her look at him in surprise. "What?"

"You answered too fast." She pointed out, watching carefully. "Do you know him or something?"

After glancing hopefully at his other friends and realizing they weren't going to get him out of it, he nodded reluctantly. "Saw him at C.O. I should probably tell Saix or something, but it doesn't seem like it'll matter. His name's Riku."

"Riku? Hm... nice name." Lexi mused, missing the warning look Axel gave her until she'd already spoken.

The grey room was unusually full today, and over by the other couches Xigbar stopped explaining something he'd seen on his mission and swore under his breath. Vexen looked mildly annoyed at the name, both Lexaeus and Zexion look absolutely murderous, and Larxene and Marluxia just shared amused smiles.

"Riku? He's the impostor? That's interesting enough." Larxene chuckled. "Isn't that your toy, Vexen?"

"The replica was a failure. Disappointing, but not a problem." sighed the 'Chilly Academic'. "Riku, however, can be considered a problem. Xemnas will have to take more care when choosing who to send on those missions."

Lexi blinked in confusion and turned to see Roxas and Demyx looking equally-if not more so-as lost as she was. "What? What did he d-"

"This is not the time for story-telling." Saix snapped, cutting her off. "Many of you have missions, and some are urgent. Lexi, Marluxia, you will be off together today. Speak with me for details." Ignoring the looks a few of the members directed at him, the Luna Diviner turned and headed to his usual place by the gigantic window.

"Temper, temper." Axel muttered, narrowing his eyes. "The second Lexi asks a question it becomes a problem."

"I wish they'd just tell us what happened there." Roxas' tone was wistful, and he looked expectantly toward the fire user.

"Yeah, too bad. That would probably be cool, huh?" His friend quickly decided to act as if he hadn't seen the look.

Smiling slightly, Lexi got up from the couch before more of that could go on. "Well, I gotta go guys. Wish me luck."

"You'll need it if you're with Marluxia." Roxas said, once again using a sympathetic tone.

Axel nodded his agreement and shot her a sly smile. "Better be quick. Sounds like Sailor Moon's getting impatient over there."

She smothered a laugh at the nickname, keeping it to a bright-eyed smile in return before crossing the room to join No. XI and No. VII.

Saix gave her a cold look, no doubt ready to use her 'lateness' as an excuse. "When I tell you to speak with me for a briefing I do not mean once you feel you have spent enough time on idle chatter."

"I'm sorry, Saix." She apologized politely, deciding not to mention that it hadn't even been a full minute; he would just point out that Marluxia was already there. "What are our orders?"

"Xigbar spotted a young woman on his last mission who released hearts from the heartless she defeated without the use of a keyblade. Find her, either turn her into a heartless and bring her Nobody back, or capture her as is. Whichever seems to be the most convenient." He ordered bluntly, ignoring Lexi's efforts to stay respectful.

"And where will we find her?" Marluxia wondered, looking more enthusiastic about the mission than his partner was.

"Radiant Gardens. Avoid being seen, and do not cause those infernal residents to come running. I doubt you could handle as much." The blue-haired Nobody's tone held an insulting undertone, that once again Lexi tried to ignore.

"Of course. We'll be careful." She promised, hoping there was no sarcasm in her voice. "Is that all?"

"You have your orders. Avoid the keyblade bearer while you are there and since your target's strength is unknown, proceed with caution." He smirked openly now before continuing. "And try not to let her run away. You've already managed to fail once this week."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Marluxia didn't bother hiding his disappointment in being partnered up with Lexi, though he did welcome the assignment. Finally, they were letting him do something more than re-con or collecting hearts with that damn kid. Besides, much as it killed his pride to admit it, she had more or less saved his life, and he didn't really hate her that much. He didn't want her company, but when he wasn't putting up with her reluctance to fight she wasn't intolerable. Still, her of all people on a mission to attack some little girl? He'd go insane.

"Leave this to me, make heartless appear or do whatever you need to to turn her into one herself, but don't go letting your softness get in my way." he said at last, giving up on ideas like trying to slip away and find her himself.

Lexi gave him a surprised look, but recovered and shook her head. "We're assigned to this together, I have to help out. I won't like it, but you don't have to worry about me." She assured, not sternly, but the message was clear. Xemnas' little girl was in charge if she wanted to be.

Marluxia settled with glaring at her before purposefully walking in front of the girl on their way through that ridiculous town. There weren't many people around, yet the girl wasn't among them. _Black hair and a red dress._ That's what Xigbar had been telling them earlier, not that it was much help. Still, the only girl they'd seen had had brown hair and a pink dress, mostly it was just men they came across.

"Not here." Marluxia sighed. "Come, we'll check the outside of the town."

Lexi gave him a confused look. "But wait, what about the girl with the ribbon?"

Remembering she hadn't heard the 'story' he decided not to snap at her just yet. "Look for a girl in red with black hair, simple enough for you?"

If he'd expected to bother her then he was sorely disappointed. "Yeah, thank you."

He sighed. Either she was ignoring the sarcasm or she hadn't heard it in his tone. Most likely the first one. They didn't talk too much after that, though Lexi made a few polite attempts at a conversation, which Marluxia ruined with semi-polite one word answers. Yet still, the walk was awfully boring, and eventually the two did talk a little about the mission.

"She fights heartless, so we probably can't count on surprising her with our powers or anything." Lexi pointed out as they quietly continued along.

"True, but not a problem." Marluxia agreed with a half-smile. "I could always do with a real fight, and some child will hardly be a problem."

They didn't find her for another hour, exploring the rocky area not far from that strange castle. Marluxia and Lexi had paused behind two of these rocks to stay out of sight, still unnoticed.

_Well, it seems I was wrong. She's certainly not a child._ Marluxia thought as he watched.

The girl, almost a young woman, looked about his age, and to a non-Nobody she might appear pretty. To him, the only thing that caught attention was the battle axe in her hand.

"Ugh! Who in God's name makes friends with animals? I should roast that duck and force-feed it to the dog freak." She was complaining, sounding pretty stressed out. "These idiots are going to drive me crazy!"

The two Nobodies shared a curious look, but didn't waste any time dwelling on it. They had to capture or change her, not understand her. The problem was doing just that. Lexi could summon up the heartless in a moment's notice, but they would have to get her quickly enough that they wouldn't get destroyed first. So Marluxia got his fight, at least.

The girl was pacing now, so he watched for a moment and decided to judge her times when she was turned around opposed to the times when she was able to see him if he attacked. Eventually he sent out a flower vine attack after her, but she didn't even turn when she moved that axe in a swift movement to deflect in one easy motion. When she did whip around he caught a glimpse of her eyes, which seemed to be a mix between red and blue-a murky purple.

"So, who the hell are you?" She growled, gripping the handle of her weapon and exposing the lines on the blades that were turning red as well. "Come on out, there's no way that was a natural thing."

"Would have been odd if it were." Marluxia agreed, summoning his scythe and standing straight, no longer hidden by the rock.

"...Pink?" The girl snorted back laughter. "You dyed your hair pink? Scratch that, you're a Nobody, it's probably natural. Better yet, why didn't you dye it something else?" Before he could protest she went on. "Well, doesn't matter, and I don't care, so don't actually bother me with answering that. I don't care why you're fighting me either, so don't waste time there. Get that flowery pretty-boy ass of yours over here and we can skip the formalities."

Marluxia was actually a little stunned for a moment. This girl was weird, even by his standards, but he just shook his head to clear it and stepped around the boulder and closer to her, brandishing his admittedly flowery scythe and preparing to battle.

Happily Kurai-though the name was unknown to him-decided that was good enough and ran at him with surprising speed considering the size of her weapon, wasting no time before sidestepping at just the right moment to maximize her momentum and increase the power in the attack. Marluxia smoothly flicked his wrist, barely requiring any energy to twirl his scythe in a graceful 'circle' to deflect the weapon. Usually this is where he would follow up with a counter attack, but he found himself-to his surprise-having to struggle to actually keep the girl's axe at bay with all the force she was putting behind it. He pulled away and pivoted immediately, so that Kurai's axe slashed the air and gave him a good position to swing in a violent arch at her legs.

Lexi found herself, once again, watching a violent, fast paced battle that she could hardly keep up with on yet another mission she didn't want to be on. This was amusing actually, because she couldn't help notice the bursts of fire occasionally shooting off of the axe indicating a fire element, which was ironic because of how Axel had used the same power yesterday. (Unknown to the Half-Nobody, this girl's power never stayed the same for long.) Yet this was incredibly different, both of the combatants involved now seemed to be battle-crazed equally, which made it very hard to understand what they were doing at any particular time.

The girl noted that this meant she was likely completely out of Marluxia's mind while he fought, and that Kurai wouldn't have ever noticed her, so now was as good a time as any to carry out their plan. It took awhile, but eventually she noted that careful attention could help her distinguish where to aim her shadows without accidentally catching her fellow Nobody by mistake. At a quick mental command the darkness in the area sprang forward, ready to bind the unaware girl's legs. Lexi quickly got to her feet first, making herself easily visible, and summoned then threw one of her fans in a well-practiced motion, calling it back when Kurai noticed it and ducked to avoid the weapon.

"Two of you? Cool." The older girl apparently thought this meant more of a fight, but Marluxia caught the warning, and reluctantly jumped backwards, out of the way of any sudden attacks.

Kurai seemed to be annoyed by this, and stepped forward to continue their little match, when Lexi allowed the shadows to get going and watched as the strange girl fell flat on her face, obviously expecting free movement of her legs.

"Go on!" shouted the Half-Nobody as Kurai swore and lifted herself off the ground, turning her neck to try and get a glimpse at what had caught her.

Marluxia-sure he would be feeling the wounds he'd gotten back there for awhile yet- wasted no time before kicking that damn axe further out of the girl's reach and, while she was angry and distracted with that, he hurriedly resorted to the simplest method, slamming the handle of his weapon against the girl's temple, rendering her unconscious pretty quickly.

"Do we...?" Lexi trailed off, not sure what they were doing-turning this girl into a heartless or bringing her back. "What do you think?"

She watched as Marluxia leaned down and casually lifted the tall girl off the ground, carelessly swinging her over his shoulder, which would leave a nasty bruise when Kurai awoke-no doubt this was No. XI's intention. "Get her axe, there's something about this girl. We wouldn't want to risk losing whatever she's got that actually let her land a hit on me. We'll take her back."

* * *

**A/N: Ok so please review and let me know what you think!! Try not to be too mean though ok? ;p Oh and I'm not updating until i get some reviews! I need at least five!!^.^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright well here's the next chapter. Its not as long as the last one, but its still pretty long. Anyway, enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is not mine.**

* * *

Lexi sighed as she laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about that boy Riku.

She had gotten back from her mission with Marluxia not too long ago, and decided to let her partner explain everything to Xemnas and Saix. She didn't know what her father would do with the girl, but she hoped he didn't hurt her or anything. And she would have stayed to find out, but she really didn't want to deal with Saix's looks any more than she had to.

But back to what was really bothering her…..Riku. She couldn't get him out of her mind. He interested her greatly, since she had never met another darkness user before. Plus….she really wanted to see if his eyes were as beautiful as the rest of his face. Sure it was dark, and she couldn't see very well, but from what she _could_ see, well, she didn't hate it that's for sure.

"Why can't I stop thinking about him?" she groaned quietly, placing her arm over her face.

Hearing a knock on her door, Lexi moved her arm slightly as it opened and Roxas walked in. "Hey Lex, you hungry?" the boy stopped, seeing the way she was laying. "Are you alright?"

Lexi smiled and stood up. "Yeah. Don't worry." She walked over to the door and walked out, with Roxas following her.

"You sure?" he asked sounding concerned. Lexi was used to the fake emotions of the others around, since she's lived with a Nobody all her life, but it still confused her sometimes how they don't have emotions but then they can seem so emotional.

"Really I'm fine!" she said smiling at her friend. "I was just thinking…." She looked down at the ground as they walked. "…Do you know that boy….Riku?"

She sensed Roxas tense beside her, and when she looked up he was looking straight ahead. "Well….not really. I mean, the others know more about him than me. Apparently he caused a lot of trouble at Castle Oblivion." He looked at her confused. "Why do you want to know?"

Lexi shrugged and looked ahead again. "Just wondering is all." She could feel Roxas' eyes on her, and knew he didn't believe her for a second, so she decided to change the subject. "Do you know what happened to that girl Marluxia and I brought back?"

Roxas sighed. "They took her to the dungeon."

"What?!" Lexi said shocked, not liking that. Why would they throw her in the dungeon?

"Yeah. I guess Xemnas said she needs to be down there until we can get her to cooperate with us."

Lexi couldn't believe her father would do something like that! Ok so…maybe she could. But still…..she didn't like the fact that that poor girl was down there all alone. However, her thoughts were short lived, as Roxas opened the kitchen doors. Lexi sighed, deciding she'd talk about it with her father later, and followed her friend in, feeling her stomach growl.

* * *

Kurai had woken up not long ago, and found herself in a cold, dark cell. Needless to say, she was less than happy about this. Unfortunately, when she tried to use her powers to break free, she couldn't. Her powers didn't work at all, which just pissed her off even more.

"It's useless. You're just going to waste what little energy you have." A voice sneered, and Kurai glared up at the person as they walked up to the cell.

It was another girl, with short blonde hair that was partly in two small pigtails. She was carrying a tray with a cup of water and a bowl of something hot, but she looked completely annoyed at having to be there.

"Who the hell are you?" Kurai asked angrily, before noticing the black cloak the girl was wearing. That's when the memories flooded back to her. Searching the Radiant Gardens, being attacked by a sissy boy with pink hair, another girl showing up, then everything was blank. She let out a loud curse, causing the other girl to laugh.

"I guess you know where you are." She said opening the door and setting the tray down none too gently, so some of the water spilled. "Now eat up. Superior wants yo-"

However she didn't have time to finish, since Kurai had quickly grabbed her and slammed her into the wall of the cell. Suddenly she made a mad dash for the door, but as soon as she stepped out, she was thrown back in by some unseen force, and shocked quite powerfully. She fell back to the floor with a yell of pain, as the other girl stood up glaring.

"There's no way to escape from here." she said angrily. "You can't get out with the special barriers we set up. Now eat if you want to stay alive, not that I care either way." She walked quickly to the door before shutting it. After glaring at Kurai one more time, she walked off, or more like stormed off.

Kurai stared after her, glaring angrily. So there was no way to escape huh? Well she'd find a way, no matter what it took. There was no way in hell she was staying in this God forsaken cell for the rest of her life. She just had to wait for the right opportunity, and when it came, that's when she'd strike.

* * *

Lexi walked into the main room, only to hear Larxene complaining about something. The girl tuned this out however, since the Savage Nymph always complained about something or the other. Besides, she had something more important to do anyway.

Looking around for someone she wanted to talk to, she noticed none of her friends were in the room. She knew Axel was on a mission, and Roxas left after the two had finished eating, and Demyx was no where to be found. So she had to ask one of the other members, who all hated her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked over to Xaldin, who was reading something.

"Um….Xaldin?" she asked quietly. Out of all the members, he was probably one of the more scarier ones. Said Nobody glanced up annoyed, before looking back at his book. Not getting an answer, Lexi decided to just ask. "Do you know where my father is?"

Again she didn't get an answer. She knew not many of the others liked her, but she never understood why. She figured maybe it was because she had half a heart, when they had none. But sometimes, she'd rather have no heart at all, if it meant she wouldn't feel so upset at the end of the day after all the others had basically shunned her.

"Please Xaldin?" she asked again politely. "I really need to speak with him."

"He's in his room."

Lexi looked up shocked to see Xigbar walk past her and sit next to Xaldin on the couch. Xigbar always confused her. One minute he'd act like he didn't give a damn about her, then the next he was acting like they were friends.

The girl smiled grateful. "Thank you Xigbar!" she bowed slightly in respect-which she normally did to all of the members, even the ones who were really mean-before turning and walking quickly out of the room.

* * *

_Maybe I could find a way to break the wall…._Kurai thought as she sat in the back of the cell. She was contemplating ways to break out, but nothing was coming up. She sighed giving up on her latest idea, after realizing without her powers or her axe, she wouldn't be able to break down the wall or anything else for that matter. She was strong, but not that strong. "Dammit!" she yelled angrily.

Kurai froze, as she heard a door open. She watched quietly as footsteps came closer and closer, until someone came into view. This time however it was a boy, around her age, with light brown hair in a mullet, looking pretty scared. Seeing this, she glared at him, smirking when the boy flinched back.

"H-Here's some…more f-food…" he said nervously. Demyx didn't know why they sent him down here. Probably as a joke or something. It was obvious if anyone should come down and be near this girl it should be someone like Lexaeus or Xaldin. Not him, the wimpy one of the group.

Kurai watched as he slowly opened the door. She didn't try to run this time, not wanting a repeat of the pain from before. "What do you want with me?" she asked angrily as Demyx set the food on the ground.

He jumped slightly at her voice, but was able to stop the water from falling by putting his hand out, causing the water to freeze in midair. Kurai's eyes widened as he drew the water back into the cup. So she was the only one who couldn't use her powers down here? That was a useful tip. Maybe….

"Hey. You." She said harshly.

Demyx gulped and glanced at her nervously, stopping at the door. "Y-Yes?"

"Let me out of here, and I promise I won't hurt you when I do find a way to escape." Kurai said, hoping he was enough of a wimp that he'd help her.

Apparently he wasn't going to be swayed by her offer. "S-Sorry….I-I'm more afraid of…the others…than I am of you."

Kurai sent him a harsh death glare. "Really? Well you should be more afraid of me. 'Cause when I get out of here, I won't hesitate to kill you Nobody."

Demyx's eyes widened as she stood up and took a few steps towards him, and he quickly shut and locked the door before running off. Kurai glared after him for a few more minutes before sighing angrily. She had hoped after seeing his timidness that he would listen to her and help her out. Apparently whoever captured her was pretty scary if he was more afraid of them than her.

"Oh well. Guess I'll have to find some other way then." She said before laying back on the bench with her arms behind her head.

* * *

Lexi hesitated a few seconds, before knocking on the door. She wasn't afraid of her father, because she knew he would never hurt her, but she also knew he didn't like being bothered when he was in his room. She hoped he wasn't in a bad mood.

"Enter." She heard from inside, and slowly she opened the door and walked in.

The Superior's room didn't have much in it, aside from a bed, a desk, and book shelves filled with books and journal entries from research about Kingdom Hearts. There were also a few pictures on the desk, two of them being of Lexi. The third was of a beautiful woman, with long blonde hair and beautiful crystal blue eyes. Lexi had never met her mother, because she had died the day of her birth. But she knew, that even though Xemnas apparently didn't have feelings, he cared deeply about her. She could tell by the look in his eyes when he looked at the picture. Lexi always feared her father would blame her for her mother's death, but he never acted that way, so she had always hoped for the best.

"Is there something you need Lexi?" Xemnas asked, noticing his daughter standing in the doorway.

Lexi looked up and smiled, shutting the door behind her. "Actually Father, yes." She walked over and stood in front of his desk, where he was seated.

Xemnas put his pen down, and watched her carefully, waiting for her to continue.

Lexi took a deep breath before speaking. "I was just wondering….what did you do with that girl Marluxia and I brought back earlier?"

Her father hesitated before answering. "She's in the dungeon."

Lexi's eyes widened. So Roxas was right…. "But….why?" she asked. "Couldn't we just keep her in a room up here? I mean its way more comfortable."

Xemnas chuckled. "It's dangerous. She obviously won't be happy when she wakes up, if she's not already awake. And we don't know the full extent of her powers." Noticing the look on his daughter's face, he sighed. "And you aren't to go anywhere near her right now."

Lexi looked up shocked. Could he really read that from her face? She had started thinking about going to visit this girl and see what she was like. "But Father I'll be fine! Those cells are designed to neutralize the powers of anyone being held in them right?"

"True. But that doesn't stop her physical strength." He explained.

Lexi stared at her father before looking down. He was right about that. She wasn't strong at all. At least not physically speaking. Sure her powers were strong-she was one of the most powerful members of the organization, not that she was even really a member, she didn't even have a number-but when it came down to hand to hand combat, she'd probably lose to just about anyone.

"Lexi." The girl looked up and saw Xemnas motion for her to come over to him, so she quickly walked around the desk to stand in front of her father. He smiled at her. "I don't want you going anywhere near her for the time being, understood?"

Lexi sighed, but nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Yes, Father."

Xemnas placed his hand lightly on her shoulder, with a caring look in his eyes, which was not normal for a Nobody. But Lexi noticed he only showed this emotion when he looked at her. "I am doing this for your own good. You know I want no harm to come to you."

Lexi nodded as she followed her father's gaze to the picture on the desk, of her mother. She wondered what initially drew Xemnas to this beautiful woman, since Nobodies apparently had no feelings. But by the way he looked at the picture, she could tell he really loved her.

"You should get to bed." Xemnas said, tearing his eyes from the picture and looking up at his daughter. "It's late. I want you to get your rest."

Lexi smiled and nodded. "Alright. Good night Father." She quickly hugged him, before walking out of the room.

* * *

In her room, Lexi paced back and forth quickly, weighing the pros and cons of what she wanted to do. She knew disobeying her father would not lead to anything good. He rarely got angry with her, but doing something he told her not to would definitely lead to an unhappy Xemnas, and that wasn't good for anyone in the organization.

But Lexi really wanted to speak to this girl that was so interesting that her father wanted her to join the Organization. What was it about her that was so different? Well, aside from the fact she could capture hearts without using a keyblade. Lexi only saw her for a few minutes when Marluxia was fighting her, but that didn't reveal anything about her other than she was a good fighter. Almost as good as Riku…..

She froze, realizing she was thinking of him again, as another thought came to her. Instead of seeing the girl, like her father banned her from doing, she could sneak out. Lexi was rarely allowed to leave the castle, the only times being when she was on missions, which were rarely solo missions. No one would notice she was gone, since it was late, and most of the others would likely be in their rooms.

Lexi thought for a few more minutes before deciding. Quickly, she made a dark corridor and glanced at her door, before walking through.

* * *

Kurai glared at the wall, as she tried to summon up her elemental powers. However, she had been doing this for a few hours now and nothing had happened yet. Plus she was starting to get tired from straining her body to do something it obviously couldn't.

"Dammit!" she said angrily crossing her arms. She had to find a way out of here! She hadn't even touched the three trays of food that were still sitting on the floor. A third person had come later that day after the wimpy kid, and brought her more food. However she didn't really say anything to him. He was actually kind of intimidating, being strangely large and muscular, with reddish-brown hair. He had said nothing to her, just set the food down and left.

"Having trouble with something?" a mocking voice said from the shadows. Kurai turned quickly and glared at the person standing in the doorway of the cell.

"You." She said angrily, recognizing the pink hair.

Marluxia smirked with his arms crossed, glancing at the not touched food, and taking a step into the cell. "You should probably eat some of that. We don't want you dying on us before we have a chance to use you."

Kurai's eyes narrowed. "Use me? And what exactly are you planning to use me for?"

"You don't know? I figured since you knew about us being Nobodies, you knew everything we were trying to do."

"Well I know the basics." Kurai answered reluctantly. She really didn't want to talk to this guy, since he's the one who beat her, but she wanted to know what these people-if they could even be considered people-wanted with her. "I know you guys are trying to obtain hearts. That's about it."

Marluxia nodded slightly. "And by doing that, we need Kingdom Hearts, which is not complete yet. We have a keyblade wielder with us, and that along with Sora killing heartless has helped us immensely." He smirked. "But one of our members saw you the other day in Radiant Gardens. He told us you captured the hearts of heartless without using a keyblade. Is that true?"

Kurai's glare darkened. So they had been watching her? "Maybe. What if it is?"

"If it's true what he saw, then you're going to join us, and help us complete Kingdom Hearts." Marluxia said, not giving her a choice.

"What do you mean I'm going to join? I'm not joining your freakish group!" Kurai said angrily.

"It's not really your choice. Our leader wants you, so you're part of our group now. And you'll be helping us to capture hearts."

Kurai continued to glare at him. This guy was beyond a jerk. He was basically telling her she was now with this Organization thing whether she liked it or not. And without her powers, there was no way she could beat this guy, so it wasn't like she could try attacking him and running. Then again, she had nothing better to do with her time, so maybe joining wouldn't be such a bad idea. It'd give her some entertainment at least.

"Alright." She said after a few long minutes. "I'll join this stupid organization or whatever it is. But on one condition."

Marluxia chuckled. "You're joining no matter what. So what makes you think you get to make a condition?"

Kurai glared again standing up. "Well I'll be more cooperative if my condition is met."

Marluxia watched her for a few seconds, before sighing. "Fine. What is it?"

"I get to wear my normal clothes, not that stupid ugly coat you freaks where." She said eyeing his black coat.

Marluxia gave her a weird look. "Fine. I was expecting something more important than that, but whatever. You can wear your own clothes."

Kurai crossed her arms smirking. She may not like having to join the organization, but at least she got one thing she wanted. And besides, it might be interesting to see how Nobodies live. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Lexi stepped out of the dark corridor and looked around. She had arrived on Sunset Hill, one of the places in Twilight Town. It was dark out, so there would be no one up here, and she could be alone, which she liked.

She smiled and was about to walk over to the bench, when she froze, now noticing someone else standing by it. Looks like she wasn't going to be alone after all. Lexi couldn't tell who it was, but she had an idea. The person was wearing a long black coat-the organization coat-and the hood was up.

Said person turned after a second, obviously hearing her. They didn't speak, but merely walked towards her. Lexi's eyes widened, not knowing what to do. Was he going to fight her? But surprisingly he just walked passed her, and created a dark corridor. She knew she only had seconds to act, if she wanted to speak to him.

"Riku?" she said hesitantly.

He froze, about to step into the dark corridor-probably shocked she knew his name-and Lexi knew she was right. It was him! She smiled. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since that mission with Axel a few days ago. And now that he was right here in front of her again, she wanted to talk to him.

Unfortunately it didn't seem like he wanted to talk, since he took a step into the corridor. "No wait!" Lexi said pleadingly, and again he froze-which confused her a little, since she didn't really expect him to listen to her. "Please! I…I'm not going to fight you or anything. I just want to talk to you."

He hesitated for a moment, before turning to face her as the dark corridor disappeared. Lexi smiled again, thankful and a little shocked that he believed her. She wanted to find out more about him, but first….

"Um…could you please take your hood off?" she asked cautiously. She watched as he stood there not moving. She wished the hoods weren't so dark on the inside, so she could see his face, and try to figure out what he was thinking.

Thankfully though, he reached up and pulled his hood off, revealing his long, wavy, silver white hair that she'd seen a few days ago. And just like before, his eyes were covered with a black blindfold. Lexi smiled, glad that he at least trusted her somewhat.

"I'm Lexi." She said still smiling, taking a step closer to him. She saw him tense slightly, and stopped, deciding she better use caution. Her interest to learn more about him was getting in her way of judgment. He could easily summon his weapon and attack her at a moments notice, and he was probably thinking the same about her. So, she decided to start off with an easy question. "So how come you're wearing one of our coats?"

"I told you before that's none of your concern." He said flatly, and Lexi sighed. She probably wasn't going to be able to get any answers out of him if he kept acting like this.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not here to fight. I actually snuck out of the castle to come here, so I'm not on a mission or anything." She said looking down at the ground.

"…..You snuck out?" Lexi's eyes shot up at his slightly amused tone. She could tell he was trying not to smile, and in turn she smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yes. I'm not allowed to leave the castle unless I'm on a mission, but it gets so boring in there sometimes that I just have to sneak out." She said.

The two teens stood there quietly for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say. Lexi had a million questions to ask him, but she didn't know where to start. Fortunately-or unfortunately, depending on how she wanted to look at it-Riku decided to start with the questions. "Why are you in the Organization?"

Lexi's eyes widened slightly at his question. "What?"

"You don't seem like a normal Nobody." Riku said, stating what she already knew. Of course she wasn't a normal Nobody.

She smiled. "You're right. I'm not. I'm only half." At his shocked expression, she giggled. He's probably never heard that one before.

"How can you be only half a Nobody?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Well, my father is a Nobody, and he met my mother who was a….Somebody, I guess you could say." Lexi said smiling.

"'Was'?" he asked, not missing the past tense she used when talking about her mother.

"Yes. My mother died right after I was born." She said. "And to answer your first question, I'm in the Organization because my father is the leader."

This obviously shocked him more than anything. "Your father….is….Xemnas?"

Lexi nodded still smiling. But she decided since he was asking all these questions about her, she could afford to ask one about him. "Why do you cover your eyes?"

Riku froze at that, and hesitated before answering. "That's none of your business."

"Well can I see them then?" she asked.

"No." he said flatly, and her hopes fell a little. She had hoped he would have said yes, so she could see what his eyes looked liked.

She thought for a second, trying to come up with some way to keep him around. She really liked talking to him, though she barely knew anything about him. Maybe it was because she was glad to know someone who wasn't a Nobody, and to know someone else who didn't completely hate her.

"Do you wanna take a walk with me?" she asked smiling, and Riku just stared at her, probably trying to figure out what she was up to.

"Why?" he asked slowly.

Lexi shrugged. "'Cause I really don't want to go back." She walked over to him quickly, but lightly, ignoring when his body tensed. She took his hand and smiled up at him. "Come on!" she said before pulling him down the slope into the other part of the town.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

She pulled him all the way to the main part of town, and surprisingly he didn't really fight her. He was probably as curious about her as she was about him. Finally she stopped pulling him and let go of his hand, looking around.

"This has always been one of my favorite towns to come to on missions. It has the best ice cream. Have you ever had it?" she asked smiling up at him.

Riku looked down at her shaking his head. "I don't come here to eat ice cream. I have something I need to do."

"Really? Like what?" Lexi asked curious, but his answer was obvious.

"It doesn't concern you."

She sighed. "Alright then." Lexi looked around smiling. "Lets see…oh! I can show you a really cool place to sit! You can see all of-" she was suddenly cut off by Riku's hand over her mouth as he quickly pulled her into an alley.

She couldn't help the slight blush she got when she noticed he was holding her against him. She glanced up at him confused, but he just peaked around the corner. What confused her most though, was why he bothered to try to hide her. If someone was here that was his enemy, why didn't he just run off himself, and leave her there? That's what most of the Organization members would do…..

Riku had leaned over far enough to peak out, that Lexi could see slightly too. And when she did, her eyes widened. It was Xigbar! What was he doing out here this late? Unless…..uh oh.

Lexi gently pulled Riku's hand away from her mouth. "You have to go." She whispered. "He's looking for me. If I go out there he'll leave."

Riku let go of her, and looked down at her confused. "Will you be in trouble?"

She smiled at the concern in his voice. "Probably. But it'll be ok. I've snuck out before."

He hesitated, but nodded before creating a dark corridor, and got ready to go through.

"Wait!" Lexi said quietly, and Riku turned to her. "Will I…see you again?"

The small smirk that appeared on his face made her thankful it was dark out, and he couldn't see her cheeks darken. "Probably." He said shortly, before walking through, the dark corridor disappearing behind him.

Lexi smiled slightly, before taking a deep breath, preparing to face her doom. Slowly she walked out of the alley, and towards the awaiting sharpshooter.

He turned hearing her walking up and glared. "There you are. You've caused a lot of trouble at the castle you know."

"I'm sorry." Lexi said looking down at her feet.

"The boss has been worried sick. And he's been taking it out on Saix, who, should I say, is not too happy with you." Xigbar said.

Lexi sighed. "I know."

The sharpshooter stared at her for a few seconds, before sighing and creating a dark corridor. "Well go on then."

The Half-Nobody stared at it, before taking a deep breath and walking through, to what could possibly be her death, after the Luna Diviner got through with her.

* * *

**A/N: Ok well review please and let me know what you think!!!! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So sorry for the long wait! Had to wait for 4thespada-ulquiorra to finish this chapter. She's been really busy and couldn't work on it. Anywhere, hope you guys enjoy!!!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters, just Lexi and Kurai.**

* * *

The dark corridor closed up almost immediately after Lexi and Xigbar had stepped out into the castle, the former with her head bowed nervously. The Freeshooter had brought them to the portion of the hallway just outside of Saix's room, where said man was waiting outside with a terrifying expression. His eyes narrowed when he saw them appear, and Lexi felt her throat closing up with anxiety. _He won't hurt me, he won't hurt me... he's not allowed. He _won't_ hurt me._ No matter how many times she repeated the mantra in her head it was hard to believe the words with him glaring at her in that way.

"Xigbar, thank you for fetching our little runaway for me." said Saix, never shifting his eyes away from Lexi's. "Go tell Xemnas she has returned, that should calm him down."

That was bad; if Xigbar wasn't there then there was nothing to prevent the Luna Diviner from getting brutal. "Yeesh, he's like a freakin' mother hen." Sighing impatiently, Xigbar turned over his shoulder and cast Lexi a mildly sympathetic look. "See ya later, good luck." He added after a moment's consideration before vanishing down the hall.

"Um... you wished to talk to me, Saix?" Lexi asked in a quiet voice, mentally willing the blue-haired man to stop watching her with such a piercing gaze.

For a minute or two it seemed he wouldn't say anything, but at last he spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them. "Correct. You are aware just how much trouble your little get-away has caused this Organization, aren't you? Specifically your father, and whatever causes _him_ trouble causes _me_ trouble."

Lexi shrunk back nervously at his sharp tone and swallowed once or twice to clear her throat before speaking. "I-I know... It's just, I never get any time to myse-"

"That is not my concern. Whatever the reason, your departure caused a major setback; our entire day was wasted running about organizing a search for _you_. Not only that, but the brunt of Superior's anger was directed toward me-as if it's my job to keep you from getting in trouble." Saix no longer looked composed, and he had taken a few steps closer to Lexi-who backed up almost involuntarily. "I won't put up with this any longer! You may be Xemnas' daughter, but that does not mean you can do whatever you like! Despite what you may think you are _not_ better than us, and certainly deserving of no special treatment! Your selfi-"

"With all due respect, I have never believed myself better than anyone else in this castle!" Lexi protested quietly, but firmly. "If anything I would prefer I received no special treatment whatsoever, all that's gotten me is alienation and a complete lack of freedom."

Saix cut off any further comments with a warning growl and narrowed his eyes, right hand clenched into a fist. "Silence! I am not interested in excuses, brat. You are not one of us, and don't you _dare_ speak back to me as if you were. I've had enough of catering to you whenever you so much as have a bad day! Your very presence here is a sign of your selfishness- you can't be bothered to do any actual work, instead you sit around and take up our time and space while pretending to assist a goal you don't even have the need to achieve!" For a moment she was tempted to defend herself again, but the look in Saix's eyes discouraged any such actions. "And furthermore," he continued, "I can't even punish you as I would the rest of the members because 'Xemnas' little girl' is too precious to put in danger. You can't even be reprimanded properly lest we injure your fragile ego-"

"That's it. Saix, you're jealous that I have emotion, aren't you?" Almost as soon as she had said it Lexi wished she could take the sentence back. Not only would she be in more trouble now, but there was no way she could manage to get on good terms with No. VII after this.

The man clenched his jaw tight, both hands curled into fists so tight that the material on his gloves stretched unusually. "Don't insinuate anything, you presumptuous little brat. For one thing, I ordered you to be silent! For another, you may be too stupid to realize this, but as you just stated I cannot feel emotion and therefore I cannot become jealous."

"Then why are you angry?" Lexi whispered, taking another step away from the angry man. "If you can get so mad at me over something so trivial then you can most likely get jea-"

"Trivial? You call wasting my time, sitting through a lecture and unnecessary punishment, having to organize a search for some uppity brat and losing Xemnas' trust trivial?" Saix looked positively furious now; and something about him seemed to be turning almost animal. "You've never been through more hardship than a night locked up in your room, you-! Well... want to see something "trivial" do you? A few mild injuries are trivial, and since you think _my _ordeal was minor, I believe it's only fair you deal with your own!"

At first Lexi assumed this meant she would be locked up again, for who knows how long this time, but then she noticed the glint of red in Saix's eyes, the way he was literally baring his teeth at her, the rips in his gloves where his nails dug into them and she thought over his words. _"A few mild injuries are trivial."_ It seemed he meant to hurt her; and if that weren't bad enough she could tell quickly that this was the "berserk" mode Axel told her about, brought on by anger, and he could will it to happen in the moonlight.

Well, that was bad.

Lexi put her hands out at her sides and froze. She couldn't summon her fans; the situation was bad enough, and if she ended up hurting Saix he would just get angrier. Hopefully he would calm down before trying to attack her, and if not then maybe someone else would walk by and get him to stop. "S-Saix, calm down, okay?"

"Shut up, you little bitch." He snarled, causing Lexi to open her eyes wider in surprise. Odd as it seemed, that was the first time anybody had sworn at her so directly-and it was not a good feeling, especially when the words weren't meant as a joke. "You've had this coming for a long time anyway."

He stepped forward again, forcing her back against the wall, and raised his fist as if he meant to strike her. She gulped, prepared to duck and get away from him the moment he moved, but before either of them could do anything a somewhat familiar voice cut them off.

"I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, but I think it's 'bout time ya stopped. Especially if this is some woman-beater thing. If it's you two being all unusual with your romance tastes then take it somewhere else, 'cause this aint exactly a private abode."

Lexi, confused, turned in the direction of the speaker-expecting to see a new member maybe, even one of those kids who had broken into C.O., but instead saw the girl from the other day. Her hair was somewhat tangled and her dressed looked like it could use a trip to the laundromat, her eyes seemed to be silver (which was different than Lexi remembered) and her axe was gone-but she seemed confident enough that she could handle herself, and Lexi, in this situation.

When Kurai caught her looking she smirked and winked, obviously amused. "Heya Cheater, how's it goin'?"

"Um... not as well as I would like, as you can probably see." The white-haired girl replied, glancing between the newcomer and Saix.

Kurai nodded, chuckling to herself. "Yeah, I figured. So, how's about it elf-boy? You gonna back away from the little girl or do you want a fight? Cause trust me, I'm good either way." Silver; that meant metal, which she had learned chose to take over when she was in the mood for a fight.

Unfortunately, the Nobody chose the first option. Looking a little dazed he shook his head once or twice as if to clear it, then turned back to the white-haired girl as if making sure she was unhurt. "Hmph. Report to me in the morning, Lexi, you'll be tracking down Xaldin's target for your next mission."

The man turned on his heel and walked down the hallway towards Kurai, who crossed her arms and returned his angry gaze defiantly. _Just try it, blueberry. I'd love an excuse to kick someone's ass right about now, and you're as good as anyone._ She thought, a smirk appearing on her lips when the man scoffed once more and strode away.

"Someone's not a morning person." She muttered, watching him go until a quiet *ahem* drew her attention back to the girl, Lexi.

"Um, thank you for that. I don't think he really noticed what he was doing until you came." She said, waving shyly with a look of interest in her eyes.

Kurai shrugged it off, not one for dealing with gratitude and such. "Yeah, looked like he wanted to punch your eye out though. What was all that about?"

"Oh, I caused some trouble earlier... I tried sneaking out yesterday and my father was worried." The younger girl explained, a mild look of frustration passing over her features when she mentioned her father. Chances were the two didn't like each other; that or he liked her too much and kept her on a short leash. "I know I shouldn't have, but-"

"Don't have to explain anything to me. Believe me, I'm the last person you've got to teach about annoying parents and their annoying rules." Kurai waved it off, partially because she didn't want to listen to some story. "And I'll be damned if I don't sneak out of here the second I think they're trying ta keep me locked up. I'll kick that pink-haired freak's ass for bringing me here." She clenched her fists at the thought of that "Marluxia" character and narrowed her eyes, then opened them wide again suddenly. "Which I can _do_ now! Hah, powers are _back_ baby!"

Lexi covered her mouth to keep from laughing at this girl's unusual behavior, though the fact that she probably _would_ hurt Marluxia if she got the chance wasn't all that funny. "Oh, right. I'm sorry about that... I didn't think they would lock you up like that when we brought you back."

"Eh, I've had worse. Heck, the dungeons here are better than the normal rooms Maleficent had when I was working with her way back when, so it's not really a problem." _Though I would like to get you back for tripping me up like that._ Kurai shook her head quickly to clear thoughts like that, no use getting on the leader's bad side by beating up his daughter on her first day. "So what was he talking about back there? You're tracking some Xaldin guy...?"

"No, not Xaldin-the heartless he's been searching for." Lexi sighed, looking crestfallen for some reason. "It's supposed to be incredibly powerful, and now I have to fight it."

"So? How's that a bad thing? It's just a heartless, kick its ass and move on." The raven-haired girl "suggested", starting to walk down the hallway past Lexi. "You comin'?"

A little confused, she nodded and began to follow the other girl along. "It's not so simple, most of my attacks are dark based, and so is this heartless. My strongest moves will probably be useless."

"Hm, that is a problem. Oh well, just hit it until it drops-that usually works." Kurai grinned, ignoring the strange look she got from the half-Nobody. With a personality like hers you got used to that pretty fast.

* * *

"Come on, Lexi, let me help you out!" Axel protested, chasing after his friend as she paced back and forth in the gray room. "There's no way you can fight that thing on your own, screw Saix and his punishments. Xemnas would never let him do this if he knew anyway."

Lexi shook her head, causing her hair to flop around, and turned to face him. "I know that, but I have to show him I don't accept any special treatment, and I can't ask you to come either. Then he'll just start assuming I'm weak."

"But-" The fire sighed, obviously getting frustrated.

"Oh put a sock in it." Kurai snapped, reclining on one of the couches with her legs crossed over the back of the couch, looking up at them from her upside-down position. "She can fight if she wants, it's not like she'll die anyway. If things get bad she can pull off a weird trick like that portal thing you guys do and get out of there in no time flat."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that." He said, shooting her a nasty look which she returned immediately. The two had just met that last night, and already there was some animosity showing between the two. "But I don't think she should let Saix push her around, either. If you listen to him now he might do crap like this behind Xemnas' back again."

"Well..." Lexi considered this, running over possibilities in her head. There weren't many; it seemed like whatever she did would worsen her relationship with Saix even further, and with the way he nearly hurt her last time that was certainly a problem.

"If he tries this again I'll tell him to stop, if he doesn't care-which he probably won't-then I tell Xemnas." Roxas cut in, glancing at the others for approval.

"Sounds good." Agreed Kurai, grinning to herself. "Actually, this is perfect. Once you kill that thing you can rub it in Saix's face for awhile, too."

Lexi smiled slightly; even she would get some satisfaction about proving No. VII wrong. "Well, either way-I have to go soon or he'll get even angrier."

Axel sighed again, glaring in the Luna Diviner's direction before turning back to her. "Fine, fine. Good luck killing your giant monster."

She smiled again, amused by his grumpiness, and waved. "See you guys soon, I hope..." The others waved back, and she vanished through a portal she created.

* * *

Xaldin had told her earlier that he had tracked the heartless to some place called "Wonderland", which was where she was headed now. The name implied some interesting things, but the world was nothing like she had expected. Things were stuck to walls, upside down, 2D, the doorknob spoke, the tables were huge and the two bottles on top appeared to cause people to shrink and grow depending on which you drank.

"Um... hello? Is anyone there...? I'm looking for a heartless? It's really big...?" Lexi sighed and shook her head again. There was no real point in calling out, but she had harbored some minor hope that the Invisible would appear if she made some noise. Xaldin had claimed it was a rather violent enemy, but it was either in a different room or she needed a batter plan.

While she was considering this, Lexi caught the sound of something moving very quickly through the air behind her, and out of instinct jumped to her side swiftly, spinning around as soon as she had her footing again. _Oops... guess it found me._ She though, staring in surprise at the floating opponent before her, and more specifically the giant sword in its hands, which it was already moving to attack with again. Thinking fast, Lexi waited for the move before swinging her fans as if to block, then releasing one so that it flew towards the Invisible while she dove to the ground and rolled forward to avoid being hit.

The heartless flew with surprising speed to the side, dodging the fan entirely, so she used her element to pull it back to her, though the weapon missed hitting her target on its way back as well. She prepared to summon a few weak heartless that she could control to assist her, but the Invisible had different ideas. It swung its sword again, this time launching a shockwave in her direction, which she attempted to block with her fans. Fortunately Lexi avoided damage, though the force did push her back and left her vulnerable to the next attack directed at her. Luckily she was fast on her feet, but even with her quick dodging skills the heartless managed to "clip" her with the sword. The attack had a lot of power behind it and nearly launched her off her feet, as it was she barely managed to roll away before the next attack hit her.

Lexi took a deep breath, trying to lower her adrenaline level so she could think up a battle strategy as she ducked and dodged her way around the room, narrowly missing attacks. Once or twice she attempted to strike back, but her fans were too slow and as far as she could see her shadow attacks did almost nothing to weaken the Invisible.

The heartless launched a shockwave again, and this time she dove out of the way rather than block, though the slick floor unbalanced her, and she was left completely open to a follow-up attack. Once again the thing swung its sword, and despite her best efforts Lexi was thrown back into the wall, a stinging pain radiating from her stomach.

Some good did come of the attack, however, and she noticed that her fans had fallen on the ground near the Invisible when it struck her. The heartless flew at her again, so she took advantage of its distraction and controlled the fans so that they flew at her enemy, slashing its back diagonally. The heartless staggered, though it didn't turn around as if expecting another opponent, and by the time Lexi had composed herself it was after her again.

_This is hopeless... if it were any other kind of heartless I could defeat it easily, but in this situation..._ She thought, desperately ducking and dodging. The further things got the worst they seemed, and she was about to open a portal to escape when the Invisible was suddenly knocked to the floor, struck hard by an incredibly dark sword.

"Wh-what?" Lexi looked around, expecting someone from Wonderland may have heard the battle. It didn't seem to be the case, for instead Riku came up behind her, the sword that had attacked the heartless in hand.

He smiled at her, the same secretive smile as the one from back in the alley, and offered her a hand. "Thought I'd see you again. You're not hurt, are you?"

"Not really... Riku, where did you-?" She began, taking his hand gratefully, but he cut her off.

"Later. For now let's focus on keeping you alive while we kill this thing." The silver-haired boy had taken a battle stance, somewhat protectively Lexi noticed, next to her. "I just wish I'd come sooner, you look hurt."

Confused, but happy, Lexi shook her head. "N-no, it's fine." With a small smile she got into a stance of her own. _Just having you here is enough, like a mysterious guardian angel._

* * *

"No excuses, No. VII!" Xemnas' voice was incredibly loud when he was angry, and some of the members literally winced when he shouted in the large "throne" room they all apparently met in. "It is not your duty to punish my daughter! Your choice was incredibly foolish, do you know what could happen to her out there?!"

Kurai whistled under her breath, grinning broadly as she looked up (only the members were on chairs, she had to stand on the ground far below) and saw Saix's look of frustration. "Sir, I had to do something, and she seemed a logical choice to take down the target!" The blue-haired man was protesting.

But Xemnas wouldn't hear excuses. "Why? Because the elemental powers of the two conflict and you were hoping my daughter would get herself killed?" He accused, orange eyes flashing dangerously. "I want you to go and fetch her immediately, Saix, and-"

Whatever he had planned to say was cut off by the sound of Kurai loudly clearing her throat, distracting them from the argument. "Hey there, how's it goin'? Now, if you're done with your big angry man power-trip, how about you think for a moment. Saix here'll probably end up hurting your daughter more than helping if you send him, especially after he's being scolded again," Saix opened his mouth to protest, but the tall girl continued on before he got the chance, "so he's most definitely a bad idea."

"Saix is one of my more powerful members, and no matter what you seem to believe he would do I know my daughter would be safe should he protect her." The leader snapped coldly, glaring with intense dislike at his former prisoner who had, in his opinion, gotten far too comfortable far too quickly.

Kurai shrugged and waved off the words. "Yeah, whatever you say "Superior". How about this, you give me back my axe and _I_ go help 'er out." A few of the members scoffed at this, and someone even shouted a protest at the thought of her getting a weapon back so soon, but she ignored them. "Hey, you should be interested in how tough your little weapon is anyway, if I'm fighting for you you gotta let me fight. Besides, I'm strong, _and_ I can release hearts from things like this." Seeing Xemnas wasn't going to protest again, the girl continued eagerly, unaware that Lexi's savior had already reached her. "How's that sound to you? I go save your daughter and you let me out on a longer leash. Come on, I'll be your loyal little mutt if ya want. Need me to bark or somethin'?"

The tall man watched her for a moment, considering. He must have seen something he liked behind her fiery eyes and confident stance, because he eventually nodded and turned to Marluxia. "No. XI, return the axe to this girl." The pink haired man nodded reluctantly and vanished, probably to find Kurai's axe, while Xemnas turned back to her with something close to hope in his eyes. "Protect my daughter, girl, and I'll remove your collar."

Kurai grinned, deciphering the metaphor quickly, eyes flashing silver once more. "You got yourself a deal, big guy."

* * *

**A/N: Well thats it for now!! Please review and let us know what you think!!!^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok well here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!!^_^**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai.**

* * *

Lexi watched amazed and in awe as Riku fought the giant heartless. She knew he was strong from when she watched him fight Axel, and she had asked Roxas a little about him the other day. But she hadn't known he was _this _strong! He was fighting the heartless like it was nothing! The Invisible-which had been incredibly hard for Lexi to even scratch-was easily being overpowered by the silver-haired boy.

Finally, after a few more minutes of Riku attacking and dodging the Invisible, he ducked to avoid an attack, then jumped up and sliced through the heartless' head, landing swiftly on the ground as the heartless disappeared.

Lexi watched the giant heart come out of it and float up and disappear, going into Kingdom Hearts. Well, that would be a significant help. That heart was huge, so that meant Kingdom Hearts would be that much closer to being completed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lexi looked over to see Riku standing in front of her. She had been so caught up in the fight and watching the heart, she hadn't seen him come over.

"Oh…yes. I'm fine." She said smiling. She was very grateful Riku had come and saved her. If it wasn't for him, she probably would have been dead right now.

Riku smiled and nodded. "What were you doing fighting that thing anyway?"

Lexi sighed and looked down. "I was on a mission."

"You had to fight that thing by yourself?" the silver-haired boy asked shocked. "Why?"

"It was my punishment for sneaking out the other night." She said quietly, looking up at him and smiling slightly. However, Riku was not smiling anymore.

"So they sent you out to get yourself killed?!"

Lexi's eyes widened. "No! Well….that's probably what he had in mind, since he really hates me but…"

"Who?" Lexi looked up slightly shocked when she heard the anger in his voice.

"Um….Saix. But its fine. Really. Axel offered to help me, but I told him no. I had to prove to Saix that I didn't need any special treatment." She sighed and looked down. "I guess I needed the help anyway."

There was silence for a few seconds before Riku finally sighed. "Well, I'm glad I came when I did. If I had been any later…."

Lexi stared at him, still kind of confused. She wasn't used to talking to people who weren't Nobodies, seeing as how she was never allowed out of the castle, and when she was she didn't have time to talk to others anyway. And also…she was glad there was someone else who didn't hate her.

"Thank you." She smiled, and Riku looked up at her. "I'm really glad you saved me."

Riku smiled. "You don't have to thank me."

"Of course I do! If you didn't come, I wouldn't have been able to beat that thing." Lexi said.

"It was just your luck I was in this world today." Riku said. "I heard fighting and decided to check out what it was. Imagine my surprise in finding you." He smiled slightly, and Lexi couldn't help but smile back. There was just something about him that interested her, other than the fact that he could use darkness too.

As she watched him, she stared at the blindfold over his eyes, still wondering why he kept them covered. She really wanted to see what they looked like. "So, are you going to tell me why you keep your eyes covered?" she asked, also wondering how he could see.

He smile turned into a small smirk. "No."

Lexi sighed and looked down. "I figured that…."

Riku chuckled, and Lexi looked back up at him smiling and giggled, feeling a lot better than she had been.

The two looked over as suddenly a darkness portal opened in the room. Lexi's eyes widened, thinking maybe Saix sent someone to see if she was dead yet. She noticed Riku shift slightly so he was standing almost defensively in front of her as two people walked out of the portal.

"I still don't see why you had to come with me!" Kurai yelled annoyed, at an equally annoyed Marluxia.

"Because you just joined us! You think we're just going to let you go out on your own?!" he yelled back.

"Well anyone but you would have been fine!"

Lexi peaked around Riku with a confused look on her face. "Um…"

The two newcomers stopped arguing and looked over, now noticing the other two.

Lexi stepped around Riku so she was standing next to him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to make sure you were okay." Marluxia said, still sounding annoyed as Kurai stared at the other boy in the room with a shocked expression.

"Riku?!"

"Kurai?" the silver-haired boy said confused. "What are you doing with…them?"

Kurai shrugged. "Oh you know, just hanging out." Riku stared at her and she just sighed annoyed. "They kidnapped me okay? So now I'm working with them." She glanced between him and Lexi. "What are you doing here?"

Riku looked down at Lexi then back at Kurai. "I was looking for something when I heard fighting. So I came to check it out and found Lexi."

Marluxia looked at him, eyes narrowed, not sure if he should trust this boy, since he was the enemy. "So you saved her?"

"Was I supposed to just let her die?" Riku glared at the pink-haired man.

"Well that's less work for me." Kurai said stretching, then looked over at Lexi who was watching them all confused. "You okay?"

Lexi looked over at her and smiled. "Yeah. Thanks to Riku." She said looking up at said boy.

Kurai nodded and looked up at her old friend. "So how've you been Riku?"

The boy shrugged. "Okay I guess…..you?"

"How do you think?" she said bitterly, glaring at Marluxia out of the corner of her eyes.

"Oh right." Riku laughed.

Kurai turned her glare to him, noticing something she hadn't seen him wearing the last time she saw him. "Dude what's up with the blindfold?"

Riku froze slightly. "That's not important."

"Oh really? Then take it off." The dark haired girl smirked, crossing her arms.

"No." he said quickly, and Lexi looked up at him, even more confused now. Why was he so against removing his blindfold from his eyes? She really wanted to see them, and she thought maybe he'd take it off for Kurai, since it seemed they knew each other, but apparently she wasn't going to get that lucky.

"Well now that that's all settled, lets go." Marluxia said opening a portal, clearly not wanting to be here any longer.

Lexi nodded and looked up at Riku. "I guess we have to go."

"Yeah. Take care." He said turning to go.

"Thank you again for saving me!"

Riku turned to her and smiled. "I told you, you don't need to thank me." he turned to Kurai and waved. "Guess I'll see you around Kurai."

"Yeah yeah." she said grinning, and Riku sighed before creating a dark corridor and disappearing in it.

Lexi watched where he left for a few more seconds until someone coughing made her turn. Marluxia was giving her an annoyed look. "If you're done spacing out, then lets go."

"Right!" she said smiling, before walking through the portal.

Kurai stared after the girl, not missing the new bounce in her step. She seemed a lot more happier now than she did before, and she had a pretty good idea it had to do with a friend of hers who had silver hair.

"Hey. Lets go." She looked up and saw Marluxia glaring at her. She glared right back as she walked past him and into the corridor.

* * *

"Are you alright? You didn't get hurt did you? Did Marluxia and the girl get there in time?"

Lexi sighed as her father bombarded her with worried questions. As soon as she returned, he had Vexen check her over to make sure she wasn't too hurt, and he hadn't left her alone yet.

"Yes Father. I'm fine. Honest. Kurai and Marluxia got there just in time." she said smiling. She hadn't told her father or anyone else about Riku being there, and she was surprised Marluxia hadn't said anything either.

Xemnas sighed. "I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt. And don't worry. Saix will be punished for sending you on a mission like that alone."

Lexi's eyes widened slightly, not sure if she should be happy or upset about that. If Saix was going to be punished, he was going to hate her even more than he already did, if that were even possible.

"Um, you don't have to do that Father." She said quietly. "It's not really that big of a deal…"

"Yes it is. You could have been killed." Xemnas said sternly, noticing how worn out his daughter looked. "Now, why don't you go to your room and rest up? You must be tired."

Lexi sighed and nodded, not having the energy to argue with him. She gave him a quick hug before walking out of his room and down the hall. She yawned, realizing she was actually very tired. Fighting that heartless took a lot out of her, what with it being so strong and all. And even though Riku was the one who beat it, she hadn't regained her strength by just sitting there watching him fight.

The Half-Nobody walked down the hall, wanting to get back to her room to relax when she heard someone calling her. "Lexi!"

Lexi turned and saw Roxas walking up to her and smiled. "Hey Roxas."

"Hey." he said once he caught up with her. "So how'd the mission go? I heard Kurai and Marluxia went and helped you out."

"Um…yeah. They really saved my life!" she said smiling happily. She really hated lying to Roxas, especially since he was one of the only ones in the castle that actually liked her. Then again, she hated lying period.

"Well that's good." Roxas smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

Lexi smiled and nodded. "Me too." She giggled and Roxas laughed. "Well, I'm really tired so I'm gonna get to bed okay?"

"Yeah okay." Roxas said. "Get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night!" Lexi called already running back down the hall towards her room.

* * *

Yawning again, Lexi opened her door and walked in, only to freeze seeing someone already in there. "I was wondering when you'd get back to your room. So did you pass all your tests?"

Lexi sighed, shutting the door behind her and looking at the girl standing by her window. "Yes. I guess so. What are you doing here?"

Kurai turned to her and grinned shrugging. "They haven't really shown me my room yet so I figured I'd check out what the other rooms are like."

Lexi stared at her, before walking over and sitting on her bed. "Well, if you want I can show you your room. Or you can just sleep in here, I don't mind." She said smiling.

"Thanks but no thanks. I like sneaking into people's rooms and snooping in their stuff." Kurai said, picking up a photo that was on the nightstand. "Who's this?"

"My mother." Lexi said and Kurai gave her an odd look.

"Your mother huh? Well where is she? I mean did she and your dad split or something?"

"She died right after I was born." Lexi said looking down sadly.

"Oh, that sucks." she dropped the picture back down on the nightstand, not really caring. She wasn't really one to get sentimental over stuff. "So you seemed a lot happier earlier when we found you at Wonderland than you did this morning." Kurai glanced at Lexi, and noted it when the other girl blushed slightly.

"Did I?" Lexi said, not looking at her. "I guess I was just happy someone came and helped me out. I wouldn't have been able to beat that heartless."

"Yeah but I bet you wouldn't have been half as happy if it was someone other than Riku, right?" Kurai grinned, as she got the reaction she was hoping for.

Lexi blushed more and looked up at her. "What?"

Kurai rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh come on. You're not very good at hiding your feelings are you?"

"Well…." Lexi looked down. She guessed that was true. She had never been very good at hiding how she felt, but then again living around people who didn't feel emotions her whole life, she didn't need to really hide them. Lexi shook her head.

"See?" Kurai grinned.

"But….its not like I like him or anything." Lexi argued, though not very well. "I mean….I've only met him a couple times. But he's just…..there's something about him…."

Kurai shrugged. "Yeah I've known Riku a long time. He does have that mysterious thing going for him. But don't worry. Not my type." She said, causing the other girl to blush slightly again.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Lexi sighed looking down at her lap. "Its not like we could see each other whenever we wanted. I'm stuck in the castle all the time, and he's our enemy."

Kurai crossed her arms, staring at the other girl sitting on the bed. She knew if they tried to keep her locked up here like they did Lexi, she'd go insane. She'd find some way to break out if that was the case. And after what happened with Lexi sneaking out the other night, they were probably going to be keeping an even closer watch on her, meaning she'd be locked up even tighter than she already was. This, however, gave Kurai a very interesting idea.

"We're sneaking you out."

Lexi looked up shocked after the momentary silence. And she couldn't believe what she just heard. "Um….what?"

"I'll help sneak you out. So you can see him." Kurai said grinning mischievously, like this was the best idea ever.

"But….what? You can't! And besides you'll just get in trouble too." Lexi argued and the other girl scoffed.

"Not if we don't get caught!"

Lexi stared at the girl very confused. She was grateful to her for trying to find a way to help, but there was no way she'd be able to sneak out again. At least not anytime soon. Her father would probably have someone watching her at all times now. And if he found out she'd snuck out again…..

"If my father found out he'd be furious! He's already upset enough as it is!"

Kurai smirked. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to make sure he doesn't find out now won't we?"

Lexi continued to stare at the dark haired girl confused as she apparently tried to think of a way to sneak out. She just couldn't understand this new girl. She was strange and rude, but Lexi couldn't help but kind of start liking her. After all, she didn't seem to hate her like most of the others, so why not give her a chance? The Half-Nobody sighed and smiled, knowing no good could come from whatever this new girl had in mind.

* * *

**A/N: Well thats it for now. Please review and letu us know what you think!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry its taken so long to get this out! This chapter was 4thespada-ulquiorra's and she was really busy so I had to wait for her to finish this. But anyway hope you enjoy!^_^**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai.**

* * *

"Riku is an... interesting child. He's usually really sweet, even if he's a bit harsh he's always got these noble ideals, but sometimes he can be a huge pain in the ass. He gets jealous sometimes I guess, shoulda seen 'im when Sora first got the keyblade, it was chaotic. When he's not being possessed by crazy heartless versions of old scientist guys he's really loyal and caring too, if he likes you-and it seemed like he's veering in that direction- then he won't let anything touch you, and he damn sure won't hurt you himself. Least he won't do it on purpose, he was pretty stupid when he was 15. Prob'ly not much better."

Lexi nodded slowly, watching Kurai with a perplexed expression that seemed to go unnoticed by the other girl. She was unsure if these comments on her silver-haired guardian were meant to be compliments or not, and as such was having a hard time deciding how she was supposed to be reacting to the information.

"Now," Kurai continued, stopping for a moment to stare at the blank walls of the Castle and to mutter something about poor interior decoration, "the only thing about him you really have to look out for is that he really requires patience. You've already seen his angsty mysterious-man act, so you've got the general idea-but he gets a lot worse sometimes. Personally, drives me insane, but after living with these guys you're probably used to annoying people."

Seeing the tall girl staring at her, Lexi realized she was supposed to reply to this. "Oh, I don't find them annoying... they can be pretty harsh, but they're my friends more or less." They were almost to the grey room now, and she reconsidered as they past the door of VII's room. "Well, most of them anyway."

Kurai shrugged, obviously not too interested in what she believed were just minor disagreements between her new friend and whoever lived in that room. "Yeah, whatever floats yer boat I guess. So, let me go over this again. Axel, Roxas, and Demyx we can count on, right?"

"Um-I don't know Demyx too well... He wouldn't want to help, and really we shouldn't let the others risk punishment either. If my father finds out..." Lexi trailed off as her companion waved her hand nonchalantly, scoffing before grinning at the half-nobody in a way that was worse in its own way than even Saix's fits of rage could be.

"Oh, trust me, we can count on the little brat." Formerly silver- but now with an unmistakable purple tinge- eyes glowing with a dangerous anticipation, she continued into the next room with a new bounce to her step that caused Lexi to smile, despite herself, at how unusual it looked. Kurai grinned when she saw her friend's small smile; she was so nervous about sneaking out that she seemed even more sober than usual, and it wouldn't do to have her like this for long. Far too boring. "See? Now come on, where'r Axel 'n Roxas?"

The grey room was unusually crowded- it seemed Saix was too busy dealing with his angered leader to hand out missions, and as a result nearly the entire organization had scattered throughout the room. Lexi had to search for a moment or two before spotting her friends over by one of the tables with Luxord. It seemed like the blond Nobody was attempting to teach Roxas poker while playing a game with Axel, who had a very small pile of munny remaining and was looking about as annoyed as someone without emotion could be.

"There they are. Oh, um... that's Luxord, he's-"

"One of you guys and apparently a compulsive gambler?" Not even bothering to check if Lexi confirmed this or not, Kurai nodded to herself and hurried into the room, leaving her friend to scramble after her. "Yeah, whatever. Not interested in blondie at the moment."

The conversation had mostly stopped when the two girls entered the room, only a few of the Nobodies decided it wasn't worth the time to either call out a sarcastic thanks to Lexi for Saix's absence (though some seemed genuinely pleased, which would have been amusing if it weren't so embarrassing) or to glare at Kurai as if they much preferred her locked in her room. Axel was one of the former, while Roxas simply waved enthusiastically at the sight of Lexi before freezing with his hand in the air, confused, to glance at the girl beside her.

Kurai ignored these things in their entirety while Lexi returned the greeting to her friends, and both girls made their way across the room. Luxord looked up at their approach, in the middle of showing Roxas what a full house consisted of, and not for the first time Lexi found herself worried about the logistics of the plan. How were they supposed to discuss anything with him around? The gambler was nicer than most in the organization, but he wasn't going to let them risk getting on Xemnas' nerves again. If the leader had any more cause for anger it would mean problems for everybody, not just those involved.

However, Kurai didn't seem to be bothered. "Heya guys, how's it goin'?" Ignoring the annoyed look on his face, she sat down directly next to Luxord, reclining comfortably. "Ya know, yer like the only guy here with facial hair, huh?"

Lexi tried to smother a giggle as she sat next to Roxas and returned his peppy "Hello!" The look on Number X's face was so confused it was comical. "Yes, but I don't see why that's impo-"

"Cool accent. Almost British, but not really." Kurai interrupted, studying the Nobody's face in such a practiced way that Lexi realized this girl was quite adept at making people feel uncomfortable, enough so that it seemed to be working despite Luxord not having emotion. "Nice earring, dude. You might want to move a few o' those to the other ear, otherwise yer never gonna get a girlfriend." She warned, leaning in front of the man to get a good view of his face. "Seriously, makes you look like a pirate, which is cool and all- but having a bunch on one ear is gonna make people think you like guys. Not that that's a bad thing... do you?"

Luxord looked as stunned as Lexi for a moment at Kurai's brashness, but rather than trying not to laugh (as she was) he looked annoyed. "Being a Nobody I can't "like" any gender, now can I? But-" He continued, seeing the raven haired girl open her mouth again, "when I could feel emotion, I was attracted to woman. Not that it matters or in any way concern you."

"No, it doesn't really." Sounding completely unconcerned by this fact, Kurai stretched and yawned loudly, obviously trying (successfully) to bother the older man as much as possible. "But you still told me, which means I got on your nerves, which means that's possible, so obviously you've got some form of emotion. You sure about the whole woman thing? I mean, the only girl besides Lexi is that one with the antennae hair-and she can hardly count as female- so I know you don't have much choice, but seriously-you'd think Xemnas would recruit more girls, it's like he wants a bunch of guys all trapped in a castle together to see what'll happen."

"I'll show you the game some other time, Roxas." Giving up on his attempts to deal with Kurai, Luxord stood up and summoned his cards (which had appeared smaller than usual for the game) and collected his winnings before walking away to join some of the others.

No longer able to control herself, Lexi burst into a fit of barely quieted giggles while Roxas and Axel both watched Kurai with mirror-image approving grins.

"You know what, I think I like this kid." Axel decided, reaching out to high five said girl, still smiling.

"Why thank you." Kurai leaned back against the couch, smirking contentedly and winking at Lexi. "See? No problems. Now we can talk in peace."

"He probably would have left if you just asked." Lexi pointed out, though she couldn't say she would have preferred that to the not-so-subtle teasing.

"Eh, that was more fun." Now the newcomer's eyes were an electric yellow, and there seemed to be an extra static charge in the air around her- enough for a few strands of Axel's-nearest to her- hair to frizz, luckily going unnoticed by the Nobody. "So, you guys are Lexi's friends no matter what, right? Want her to be happy and all that?"

Both boys nodded, and Roxas said, "Of course. Why, is something wrong?"

Seeing Kurai looking at her, Lexi quickly explained her problem, though rather than insinuating anything romantic between her and Riku, she merely pretended to be eager for a way out of the castle, some fresh air maybe. She was an awful liar, and it was a good thing her two friends were so unused to emotion-because the other girl was practically groaning at the unconvincing act.

"You want us to help you sneak out of the castle? Saix and Xemnas would be furious if we got caught." Seeming pleased by the concept, Axel smirked and nodded his approval. "Let's do it. What's the plan exactly?"

"Um... well..." She hadn't thought of this- it had seemed like Kurai had had a plan, but now she was worried that that had been her job. Luckily, the sly girl across from her obviously had this covered.

"It's not too hard, really. She's obviously going to be followed everywhere by a partner on each mission. Unlikely it will ever be one of us, but when it is we can try to handle the job ourselves while Lexi here goe and looks for some normal people to hang out with." Obviously proud not to be considered "normal", the happy yellow of her eyes began to shine again. "That's the easy part. Still, that's not enough time now is it? It'll be easiest to have her sneaking out at night, but obviously Xemnas will be nervous and might get paranoid and have someone check that she's still there. So, the three of us have easy jobs- two of us make sure no other organization members show up wherever she is, and one of us pretends to be her. That'll usually be me, obviously, but you two boys can do that more or less too. Well..." She glanced at Lexi and then Axel, noting the size difference. "Maybe just you, Roxas. You'll feel pretty damn stupid, but if you're willing to wear a wig or something and sleep in a different bed we're fine. I'd rather look at some of his other security or whatever, but honestly our only job is to make sure Nobody-pun intended- sees her out when she's not supposed to be."

"Pretend to be... Lexi?" Roxas looked confused at this, and mildly embarrassed by the idea of sleeping in her bed. "That seems a bit too simple."

Kurai shrugged, unconcerned. "Well so do you, so don't judge. I'd like to try it tonight, but I've got a problem- Xemnas' still got me on a tight leash. I think he's trying to send me off to work when everyone else is asleep to make sure I realize I'm not one of you guys. Really stupid, but I won't be getting much sleep either- no energy to rebel, probably his plan."

Axel and Roxas seemed to find the idea fine, if overly simple, but Lexi had other ideas. "Wait! You guys can't do that... I don't want you in so much trouble, if my dad finds out-"

"We'll deal with that if we come to it." Axel said, waving off the problem. "I've done worse things, and we could easily pretend the Amazoness over there kidnapped you or something."

"You'd be risking your own ass, but whatever, Hothead. See who's worse, me or Xemnas." Kurai warned pleasantly. The two grinned at each other- and Lexi could tell their similar personalities would make them become great friends.

Before they could continue Roxas raised his hand to his mouth for silence and pointed at the door. Saix had come back at last- and he was looking murderous. Lexi shrunk back instinctively, but the other three seemed mostly unconcerned except for the possibility of being overheard. Once Number VII had called a few people over to him and was busy angrily telling them what to do for the day, Kurai continued in a quiet voice. "So, since it really would be better to try this with three people, you guys can use Demyx as a guard or whatever tonight."

"Demyx? He won't do it, no way." Roxas whispered, glancing over his shoulder at the boy in question- who was looking very annoyed by whatever job he had been given.

Once again Kurai grinned, and the two boys shared looks that indicated they felt the same way Lexi did about the creepy smile. "Oh, trust me, he'll listen. Here, I'll get him now."

She stood up and briskly hurried across the room, ignoring Saix- who she interrupted mid sentence- and began talking animatedly with Number IX. "Rather... energetic, isn't she?" Axel mused, laughter in his eyes.

Lexi nodded, finding she couldn't think of many other ways to describe Kurai that wouldn't seem insulting. "A nice change from all the other members though... I don't think there's ever a dull moment with her around, huh?" This might not be a good thing, exactly- but if she wanted to see Riku she would have to trust the other girl entirely. And she definitely wanted to see Riku. The memory of the mysterious boy brought with it a mix of emotions: the sensation of butterflies flying in her stomach, longing, joy, even a little fear as she remembered how strong he had been, and how he could control the darkness the same way she did.

"What's she doing over there?" Roxas wondered, distracting Lexi from her nerves and calling her attention once again to Kurai, who appeared to be literally dragging Demyx away from Saix, who looked flustered but mildly amused, and as he had already given Number IX his mission actually didn't threaten the dark haired girl with punishment.

"Oh this is too good." Axel, always eager for anything exciting to happen, leaned against the edge of the chair and chuckled as Kurai returned, her terrified and annoyed load right behind her.

"That was really unfair- I was about to go finish a song on my sitar and you just dragged me off like that. Man, my hair's all-Ow!"

Demyx's hands flew up to his nose and, to Lexi's disbelief, a thin trickle of crimson blood was already streaming from between his gloved fingers, soaking the cloth- the result of a very well executed and very forceful punch from Kurai. A few of the members had turned at Demyx's shout and gave off mixed reactions; whether fury that she had dared hit one of their members or amusement at her actions, none of them actually spoke up.

"Told you I'd hit you after I got out of there, didn't I?" The tall girl smirked, looking down at Demyx and seeming very pleased with herself. "Now, unless you want me to see how much of your pretty little hair I can rip out with one pull, I suggest you sit down and listen to what I've got to say."

The water elemental may have been lazy and cowardly, but he wasn't stupid and immediately sat when instructed to do so, looking around as if hoping for help, and though Lexi would have liked to scold Kurai and help Demyx fix what was sure to be a broken nose, the raven-haired girl had begun to speak once again. After about twenty minutes of threats and explanations, plans had been made for their first break-out attempt, and the half Nobody was so excited at the idea of seeing Riku again that she didn't even notice the blurry pink image just within her peripheral vision's range until it had swept out of sight.

* * *

"God damn, as if this place wasn't dark enough." Axel muttered, peering around a corner and squinting to see as best he could with the small fireball he was using as a light source to lead Lexi and Demyx around. "Pretty creepy with all the lights turned off, huh?"

Lexi nodded, once again turning over her shoulder and finding nothing but the faint lightness of the white walls slowly sinking away into darkness further down the hallway. "Can't we just open a portal?"

"Not in here." Axel replied, continuing on once he saw the hall was empty. "I think Xemnas can tell or something if we use them in the castle, I've never managed to sneak in or out of here using one of those things without getting caught. Come on, we're almost there."

Feeling like some kind of spy or criminal, Lexi followed her friend through the unusually dark halls of the castle for another five minutes before he finally stopped, the fire in his palm lighting up the exit.

"Free at last. Come on, cry baby, you first." Number VIII turned to Demyx-who had been jumping at every slight noise for the last twenty minutes- and made a sarcastic sweeping bow in front of the door.

"Man, this is creepy..." The water boy whispered, hurrying along and looking sorry for himself; which wasn't entirely unexpected, considering the mess of bandages covering his nose. "I told you I'm the wrong guy for this."

"Yeah, too bad. Come on, Lexi." Axel waited until she had followed Number IX out the door (with a sympathetic look and another apology for Kurai's earlier behavior) before closing it as he followed them into the oddly bright World That Never Was.

"It's so strange that it's as bright at night as it is during the day." Lexi whispered, staring up at the ever-present Kingdom Hearts moon with a sort of awe. "If not for going to the other worlds it would be impossible to tell what time it was."

"Speaking of which, where are we going?" Her red-haired friend had extinguished the fire in his hand and was looking expectantly at Lexi, ready to open a portal.

"Um..." She hadn't thought of that. Where could Riku possibly be? She didn't know him well enough to assume, and there was always the chance he'd be out fighting some heartless, like he had been when they met in Wonderland. "Radiant Gardens." She had replied without much thought, the answer just seemed right to her.

"All righty then." Shrugging, the Flurry of Dancing Flames flicked his wrist casually and a dark corridor appeared, which he and Demyx stepped through almost immediately, followed by Lexi-who only just managed to make it through.

The world was just as beautiful at night as it had been when she came during the day with Marluxia not long ago. There were, surprisingly, more people out at this time- though luckily Axel had taken them behind one of the buildings and they didn't attract too much attention.

"Okay, none of the others would risk coming into town, so Demyx n' I'll look around outside of this place for the most part." He was saying, rolling his shoulders and grinning at the look on Demyx's face. "Don't worry too much- just avoid anybody who looks like they could kill you, because they probably want to, and you'll be fine. See ya in an hour, Lexi."

"See you." Lexi smiled and returned her friend's wave, trying to give Demyx what she hoped was a grateful and at the same time reassuring look as he too waved, though without much energy. "Do we meet at that castle?"

Axel considered this for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, but not right near it- try the clearing farther away. Xemnas likes to send us to the castle sometimes."

Demyx whimpered at the idea of being caught, and Lexi once again felt the urge to ask her friend just to send the unwilling boy back to the castle, but she had a feeling Kurai wouldn't be too happy to see him when she got back from her mission and decided he was safer here. "All right, I'll be careful."

Once more waving good bye, both boys set off on their own, leaving Xemnas' daughter to look around for any sign of Riku and wondering where the best place to look might be. Maybe he was at the castle himself- but she couldn't risk going over there, and the chances were pretty slim...

"Excuse me, are you lost?" Lexi started at the feminine voice and turned around suddenly, almost expecting it to be Larxene taunting her, but instead saw a brown haired girl with chocolate eyes wearing one of the most impractical-albeit very attractive on her- outfits she'd ever seen.

"Um, sort of." The girl seemed to be staring at her cloak, and for a moment Lexi was worried until the stranger looked up and met her eyes without mentioning the outfit. "I'm looking for a boy... he's got long white hair and dresses like I do, with a black cloth over his eyes. Do you know where I could find him?"

To her surprise the girl's face lit up with recognition. "Riku? We've been looking all over for him ourselves, actually. Sora thinks he saw him a few days ago, but we can't really be sure. How do you know him?" Now her voice held suspicion, and the half-Nobody decided it was better not to mention having met him on a mission where she was supposed to kill him.

"We met in Twilight Town a few days ago and we've talked a few times, but I haven't seen him for awhile." Not too long, but to Lexi an hour away from Riku was "awhile".

The girl stared at her in surprise. "You've seen him? More than once? Jeez, he must be avoiding us then. Sorry I can't be much help, but make sure to tell him Tifa's looking for him if you see him, okay?"

"Tifa, right." The white haired girl nodded, earning a smile from the stranger, apparently "Tifa". "I'll tell him if I find him."

"Thanks." With a friendly smile she turned to leave, and Lexi was about to do so herself when she suddenly stopped and looked back once more. "One more thing. I'm looking for someone too, a girl with short black hair and silver eyes that change color? She's pretty tall, hard to miss, have you seen her around?"

_Kurai!_ This girl was looking for her new friend, and for a moment she was about to tell her about her whereabouts when she realized her father would be none to happy to have friends of the raven haired girl storming their castle. Glad it was dark so her face couldn't be seen well, and her lie identified, Lexi shook her head. "N-No, I'll keep a lookout for her though."

"Oh well. Thanks again." Tifa turned once more and, this time, disappeared around a corner.

This wasn't good. Someone was out looking for both Riku and Kurai, and they knew someone from the organization had seen at least one of them now. But did they know she was in the organization? Riku wore the coat too, and Tifa hadn't seemed too suspicious after talking with her. Maybe it was obvious she had emotion and, therefore, wasn't a Nobody? Or maybe she just hadn't seemed to be doing anything evil at the time. Either way, it didn't look like she'd be in any trouble...

"You've been looking for me, have you?" For the second time that night Lexi jumped at the sound of a voice behind her- though this time the voice was familiar, and definitely welcome.

"Riku!" She spun around to see the silver haired boy watching her-or maybe not, his eyes were still covered- with an amused smile on his face.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be sneaking out anymore." He said, glancing around. "You could get in trouble again, you should get back to that castle."

"Oh, no, it's okay. Kurai came up with a plan and Axel and Demyx are watching to see if any of the others come by." She assured him, though he didn't look very reassured, so she continued. "Listen, I think a girl named Tifa-"

"I know they're looking for me, and they'll find me when I want to be found. I can't be around them right now." Offering nothing more than this cryptic answer, Riku continued in a cautious voice. "Listen, if Kurai came up with this plan you've really got to get back. She's sadistic, getting you in trouble would be a laugh for her, trust me. She'd love to rub it in Xemnas' face that she had managed to sneak you out at all, and she can't do that if he doesn't know you're here."

"I trust Kurai." Lexi replied, though she was unsure herself how true the words were. "Don't worry, with Axel and Demyx here and Roxas at the castle, I'll be fine. I'm going back in awhile, I just want to talk with you."

Her voice had lowered to a shy whisper, and now she bowed her head, feeling uncomfortable under Riku's obvious scrutiny. For a moment she feared she would have to return to the castle, but then he shrugged and said, "Fine. Come with me."

Deciding not to ask questions-for she rarely got answers from the mysterious boy- she hurried after him as he walked away, turning once to make sure she followed. For a few minutes they walked in silence, until at last Riku stopped just outside the city beside what seemed to be a winding path of rock and crystal that she and Marluxia had travelled through the day after their first meeting. He sat on one of the rocks and beckoned for her to do the same, smiling when she did.

"So, I'm curious, how did Xemnas have a daughter? I thought Nobodies had no emotion." He wondered, for once starting the conversation himself.

Eager to talk with him but unsure about divulging too much about her father-even he deserved his secrets- she spoke carefully. "I'm not sure. He seems to love her, but he doesn't talk about her a lot. I think she must have just been such a good person that even he couldn't help but have feelings for her." It was a lame answer, but dwelling too much into the situation would have been rude to her father, and she wasn't sure herself.

Riku, however, seemed to understand just from that little bit of information. "I've seen Nobodies expressing emotion during... extreme situations before. Usually it was anger, but I've seen others. Triumph, hatred, fear..." He didn't seem to be enjoying his memories, whatever they were, and continued on a moment later. "What do you think of your father?"

Now Lexi smiled herself, looking at him slyly. "Oh no, you asked a question already. Now it's my turn." She would have liked to ask about the blindfold again, but knew he wouldn't answer, so she thought for a moment first. "What's your favorite color?"

He looked surprised, much to her amusement. "My favorite color? That's your question?" He watched her for a moment and she nodded, so he shrugged and thought for a moment. "Red, I like red. Not too dark, but not as light as pink either, sort of..."

"Like a rose? That's a nice color." Lexi's smile reached her eyes now. She was glad to know anything about him, and he wouldn't answer personal questions, so it was nice to gather tiny details. Things she could think about, remember him by...

"So, since you asked me, I go now." Riku seemed to be enjoying himself more or less, and instead of inquiring about Xemnas again he decided to ask a less personal question. "So, on the topic of colors, what's your _least_ favorite?"

That was easy. "White."

Pretending to be offended, the boy raised a hand to his silvery locks of hair, and Lexi laughed at the mock indignation on his face. "It looks good on you. It's just that I see too much of it at the castle. It's such a stark color, whenever I look at the walls or the floors or anything in that castle everything seems so empty and impersonal. It's like not only the Nobodies have no emotion, but that the building is absorbing it."

Riku frowned now, likely thinking back to his time at C.O. "Yeah... I see what you mean."

Lexi felt bad now-she hadn't wanted the conversation to get too serious, it was nice seeing this lighter side of the boy. "So, my turn now. Have you ever had any pets?"

And they continued like that for so long, learning so many pointless but at the same time cherish able things about each other, that an hour had long since passed by the time a flustered Axel approached her, claiming that he and Demyx had been looking for hours and by the time Lexi had apologized and explained Riku had vanished when she turned to ask where he would be tomorrow. But for some reason she didn't need to. Smiling, she followed her friend to find Number IX, who was still searching reluctantly, and knowing that her silver haired friend would be waiting for her here soon.

* * *

"Hmph. Night missions, what a stupid idea. Can't see what Xemnas was thinking." Kurai muttered, kicking a small rock out of her way and turning over her shoulder to look at her mission partner- or rather, temporary guard to make sure she didn't escape. Not that she was afraid of Marluxia, he had beaten her on a fluke last time, and she was pretty sure she stood a good chance against him in a battle, not that she was interested in running away anymore. "Your boss is an idiot, offense fully intended. What's the point of sending us off to Neverland in the middle of the night to kill some flying bird thing?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I always say he's the worst thing about this organization." Marluxia's voice was much more bitter than she would have expected, which brought an unexpected grin to the girl's face.

"Oh yeah? Bet he wouldn't like to hear that." She grinned slyly, knowing she wouldn't mention it but liking that this obnoxious pink haired man wasn't entirely stupid. "Or about your trouble at C.O. Axel told me." She explained in response to his wide-eyed stare.

He swore quietly under his breath, probably vowing some kind of revenge against the red haired Nobody now, and it was a moment before he spoke again. "Nor would he like to hear what you've planned with his daughter." They were climbing a not too-steep set of rocks now- neither willing to do so but knowing it would be impossible to find the heartless at ground level- and he had expected some sort of reaction along the lines of slipping or otherwise stumbling comically, but Kurai just shrugged.

"So you _were_ listening. Thought so. But you know," She smiled at him in a way that made him shiver-much to her delight- and shrugged. "My thing is bad, but you wouldn't dare tell him. He would kill you, no, torture and kill you if he found out about your little plot against him. Half the organization would be gone by the time he tracked everyone who had sided with you and trust me, I would like that very much."

Marluxia glared at her, which only served to improve her mood. She was pleasantly calm tonight, with a rarely seen green shine in her eyes, and nothing he said could bother her.

"Now, play nice and maybe I'll give you a ride."

"A ride? What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, pausing to wipe some blood of his hand where he had cut it on the stone.

Grinning again, though for once more in a pleasant than frightening way, and winked. "Just watch." Laughing at the annoyed and impatient look on his face, she gripped her axe-strapped to her back and now laced with glowing green lines- and grabbed his hand, nearly causing the Nobody to fall. "Hold on tight."

A moment later the rock beneath them had begun to shoot upward, causing Marluxia to shout out in surprise. He looked over the edge as they rose, eyes wide, and turned to her with a renewed interest. "You collect hearts and control multiple elements. Interesting."

Kurai shrugged, slowing the rock's ascent as they neared the altitude of the other raised pillars, and wiped some sweat off her forehead. Elemental work was always more tiring for her than combat. "Not at the same time. It all depends on my mood. When my eyes change my element changes, but I can't use it too well until I pick up my axe. See those lines?" She pointed to the green veins on her weapon and he nodded. "They help me channel my energy to do some really cool stuff. Usually the most I can do is trap someone's foot in the floor or something, so I like having this baby around at all times."

"No wonder Xemnas has taken such an interest in you." Marluxia mused, standing up and brushing off his dust-coated cloak, looking around and noting that the pillar they had been climbing was now beneath them. it was almost like she had shifted and raised the rock all at once, creating an upward escalator effect of sorts. "If he sees too many of your tricks he'll never even consider letting you leave."

Kurai shrugged, searching with her eyes for her target in the dark sky around them. "Doesn't matter. I'm already the organization's dog."

Marluxia glanced at her again, and she could feel his eyes on her back even though she wasn't looking at him. He was silent for a moment, studying her. "You don't seem bothered by the fact."

Kurai shrugged, her black hair shining in the intense moonlight that graced over Neverland. It was a nice world, she noticed, full of trees and plants and life, and as she watched the stars on the ocean far below she realized how much the cold interior of the castle was effecting her after only a short time. "I'm not, not really. I had a pet dog once. The thing never listened to me, I couldn't get him to sit, roll over, beg, or even go on walks. He bit, barked, growled and did whatever he damn well pleased." She turned over her shoulder and grinned at Marluxia, who was watching her with an unusual expression, apparently hanging on her words. "I may be Xemnas' "dog", but he can't train me. He thinks that if he loosens my collar and lets me run around in the yard every now and again he can tame me, make me loyal to him. Like I said, he's an idiot."

He was still watching her. For a moment she held his gaze until something in her eyes made him look away, then she turned back and began to watch again. "I don't understand you. I don't think I've ever met a girl quite like you, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

Kurai turned fully away now, her back to the cliff, and smirked. "Just be careful now." She warned, counting slowly in her head. "Dog's bite."

A moment later she had stepped back and fallen off the edge. Wide-eyed, Marluxia rushed over and peered down, only to see the black haired girl firmly on the back of a very large and very angry heartless, gripping it around the neck as it tried to buck her off. He stared at her for a moment, stunned, until she looked up at him, winked once more, and let out a loud, playful howl.

Despite himself, the Graceful Assassin found he was smirking in a way almost identical to the girl below him. He had definitely never met anyone like her, and doubted he ever would again.

* * *

For the next week or so Lexi and Kurai were both in a daze of sorts. Kurai was adjusting to her life at the castle and slowly but steadily making friends; almost everyone either trusted her, liked her or relied on her strength now-and she was especially popular with Xigbar, who would make sure to ask for her as his partner whenever he left to Port Royal and both would return far past the expected time, holding empty bottles of an unknown substance and singing loudly until Saix become so furious he kicked them out to sober up. She was definitely enjoying herself, but she seemed distracted by something that neither she nor Lexi could quite figure out. Lexi herself was rather distracted; never a moment passed without thinking of Riku. They had met many times since that night at Radiant Gardens, and while they had begun to ask personal questions they had never mentioned the blindfold again, despite how desperately she wished to see it.

Still, both girls were very happy for once, something Xemnas didn't fail to notice.

Lexi strolled through the halls with an uplifted air. Yes, she had been summoned to her father's room and that was never very good, but she would be seeing Riku tonight- and maybe, just maybe, he would be ready to confide in her. Her mood didn't last, however, when she walked inside the Superior's room to find him wearing a grave expression and staring at her mother's picture with something very close to sadness. He looked up when Lexi entered and quickly schooled his expression, so she pretended not to notice.

"Ah, Lexi, come here." He waved her closer and she listened obediently, sitting in a chair and feeling bizarrely like a schoolgirl in the principal's office. "Now, I've noticed you've been... er... perkier than usual."

Unsure what this could be about, Lexi nodded silently and he continued, looking... embarrassed? "I've been thinking... you've looked an awful lot like your mother since you've begun to smile more often. I keep forgetting you're not a Nobody, Lexi, something she would have scolded me for. It seems that you are.. well you look almost like..." It was strange, and fairly amusing, seeing Xemnas at a loss for words. This had, in her memory, never happened before. "Well, you seem like you're in love."

Uh oh. Lexi froze, eyes wide as her father continued, taking her shock as confirmation. "Now, I obviously do not know how a teenage girl... I don't know how... your mother would have been much better at this. I just want to know, Lexi, who the boy is."

Crap. She couldn't mention Riku's name, he would be furious both with him and her. She would have to make something up, say the first thing she could- but who could she say? He was going to be so angry no matter what... Then she had opened her mouth before she knew it and was whispering, "Roxas." Almost immediately she gave herself a mental kick; Roxas? Why had she said Roxas? This was going to be a disaster!

Xemnas looked about as shocked as she had ever seen him, which would have been funny in another situation. "Roxas? Well I suppose there are worse people here... I would warn you that he feels no emotion, but..." He glanced at the picture again, and Lexi felt awful. Of course he wouldn't protest her supposed romantic feelings for the boy, he himself had fallen for a "Somebody", hadn't he? "Well, I won't stop you, and I want you to be happy, so... I should call Roxas." He must have taken the horror in her expression for embarrassment, because he shook his head. "Never mind. You may leave."

Relieved, and mildly terrified, Lexi stood up and turned to exit, but her father called her back. "Though, Lexi, I will be talking with Roxas. I've noticed the way he looks at you sometimes, and I'd much rather the boy knows how to treat my daughter."

Smiling meekly, Lexi forced herself to thank him quietly before rushing into the hallway and closing the door behind her. She ran for a bit, making sure she was far from Xemnas' room, and collapsed on the ground, her back against the wall. This couldn't be happening- he was going to talk to Roxas? She didn't want to give him any wrong ideas, and this could ruin her friendship with both him and Axel! Then there was the possibility of Riku finding out... Before she knew it she was crying, not just teary-eyed sniffles but loud head-buried-between-the-knees sobs that gave her a headache and would have been horrible if anybody saw her, but she couldn't stop.

"Hm? Now that aint something you usually see here." Lexi recognized Kurai's voice, but rather than hoping for her friend to comfort her she only cried harder. The black haired girl was about as sympathetic as Xaldin.

"Hey, girl, what's wrong?" Kurai bent down next to Lexi, somewhat concerned but somewhat amused to see someone crying in the castle. This much emotion wasn't common here. Then the younger girl looked up at her, opened her mouth, and threw her arms around her larger friend's shoulders, still crying. "Oh crap... If Riku hurt you, I swear I'm gonna break his arm."

"N-no..." Embarrassed, Lexi shook her head and attempted to wipe off her face. Taking a few deep breaths she blurted out the story then bit her lip to prevent crying. It wasn't something she did often, and as such she had a hard time restraining the tears-something that made her feel silly next to her strong friend who had probably never so much as teared up in her life.

But Kurai was sympathetic to this plight. In fact, she winced visibly and shook her head. "Well, God damn. That f-ing sucks." She whispered, and Lexi nodded, feeling miserable.

What a way to ruin a week, Kurai thought grimly.

* * *

**A/N: Well that's all for now, please review and let us know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry it took a while to get this one out! Well, hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Kurai and Lexi.**

* * *

Kurai paced back and forth in Lexi's room, as the younger girl sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she tried to stop her sobbing. The two girls were trying to figure out what to do about the whole Roxas/Xemnas/Riku situation-well, Kurai was at least.

"Alright. First of all we're gonna need to tell Roxas. If we explain everything he'll help us." The dark haired girl said, as she continued to pace.

"But…how can you be sure?" Lexi asked quietly between her slowing sobs. She felt horrible about involving the others in her 'forbidden love' troubles any more than they already were. Why did she have to say Roxas' name? Why couldn't she have just lied and said she wasn't in love with anyone? It would have made things much easier.

"He said he wants you to be happy right?" Kurai asked, and Lexi nodded. "Then he'll help. Now come on!" She grabbed the younger girl's arm and dragged her off down the hall to find the other young boy.

"But Kurai, this is getting too out of hand! I can't let you guys keep risking getting in trouble because of me!" Lexi argued, as she was drug down the hall.

"Oh stuff it." Kurai said, getting annoyed with the girl's constant complaining. "This has nothing to do with us getting in trouble. Xemnas is gonna talk to Roxas no matter what, so we might as well warn him before things get awkward."

Lexi stared at her friend, thinking about what she said. She did have a point. If Xemnas summoned Roxas to his room, and told him she liked him, things would get really weird between them. But still…telling him could be just as awkward.

"Oh there you are!" The Half-Nobody looked up, coming out of her thoughts when Kurai spoke. That's when she noticed who was standing at the end of the hall.

Axel and Roxas turned when Kurai had spoken, and the two walked towards the girls to meet them. "Hey, what's up? Were you looking for us?" Axel asked.

Lexi glanced at Roxas, who smiled and waved at her, causing her to blush and look down, which confused the boy.

"Yeah but we can't talk here." Kurai said, glancing around.

The red head glanced between the two girls, before nodding. "Follow me." He led them back down the hall, until he finally stopped in front of a door that had a "VIII" on the front, and underneath it said "The Flurry of the Dancing Flames".

Kurai grinned, finding this amusing. "'Flurry of the Dancing Flames'?" she mocked, earning a glare from Number VIII, who opened the door, beckoning them all in.

Lexi had never been inside Axel's room before, so she found it slightly amusing that everything other than the walls was black and red.

"Nice room. Could use a little more color though." The dark haired girl mused, as she appraised the room.

"At least its not all white." Axel said, closing the door after Roxas had come in, and Lexi had to agree with him. The little bits of color were a nice change.

"So what's so important that we had to talk in private?" Roxas asked, glancing between the two girls, one of which wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Oh right." Kurai said, obviously just now remembering the problem at hand. "We have a slight problem."

"And that would be?" Axel asked, wanting the girl to elaborate more on this so called problem.

"Well it's a long story, but to put it simply, Lexi here told Xemnas she's in love with Roxas."

All other sets of eyes in the room widened. Lexi couldn't believe Kurai came out and said it like that! Although she should have expected as much from her new friend.

"Whoa what?" Axel said shocked, turning to Lexi. "Since when?"

"No its not what you think!" Lexi tried to explain. "Its um…I don't know…" Her gaze found its way to Roxas, who was staring at her wide eyed, before she turned to Kurai, giving her a pleading look.

The other girl sighed, not wanting to have to explain everything. "She doesn't really love him."

"Then why'd she say she did?" Axel asked, apparently confused.

"Because she loves Riku."

"What?" the boys said shocked.

"Kurai!" Lexi exclaimed blushing. How could she just blurt that out like that?

"What? They had to find out eventually." The girl shrugged, before turning to the two boys, and divulging into the whole story. Or as much as she knew anyway.

Lexi, unwillingly, added in about the times she met with Riku before the others decided to help sneak her out. If it weren't for the seriousness of the problem at hand, she probably would have found Axel and Roxas' expressions funny. Both boys looked like they didn't know how to take in this new information.

"I-I just didn't want you to be surprised when my father spoke to you." Lexi told Roxas, as he stared at the ground, seeming kind of upset for some reason.

The boy looked up at her. "Oh um…yeah. I understand."

"Wait." Lexi stopped giving Roxas a confused look, and turned to Kurai, who was looking like she just had a great idea. "This could actually be to our advantage."

"And how do you figure that?" Axel asked, sounding just as confused as the others looked.

The dark haired girl turned to them all grinning. "Listen to this. Xemnas is going to talk to Roxas about Lexi being in love with him and stuff right?"

"What's your point?" the red head asked, annoyed she was taking so long to tell them her brilliant idea.

"Well Roxas here can just tell Xemnas he loves Lexi too-" She didn't miss Roxas' blush and him put his head down- "then when Lexi wants to sneak out to see Riku, he can tell her dad he wants to take her out. And when they leave they can meet up with Riku and Roxas can go do something until its time to come back! That will make everything easier for all of us!"

The other three stared at her, as they tried to process her plan. Lexi quickly took this all in, and realized Kurai had a point. If Roxas pretended like he was taking her on a date, then she wouldn't have to sneak out, and the others wouldn't have to risk getting in trouble for helping her!

"That's a great plan Kurai! You're a genius!" the younger girl said happily, thinking about how much more she'd get to see Riku now.

"Yeah I know. I'm awesome." Kurai grinned.

"Yeah great plan." Axel said. "But did you even think about asking Roxas if he even wanted to help?"

The two girls turned to the other boy, who blushed at all the attention being on him. Lexi rushed over to him, and took his hands in hers, giving him a pleading look. "Will you please help me Roxas? I will never ask you for anything ever again, I promise! And I'll make it up to you! I'll…" She scoured her mind, trying to think of something Roxas liked. "I'll buy you all the sea-salt ice cream you want!"

The boy stared at her, not knowing what to do. "Uh…well, I…"

"Come on, shrimp. Don't you want her to be happy?" Kurai said, earning a slightly annoyed look from him for the nickname.

Roxas seemed to think for a few moments, before he sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I'll help you out, Lexi."

Lexi grinned, feeling happiness and joy swell up in the half-heart that she had, before throwing her arms around the boy. "Oh thank you so much Roxas! You're the best friend ever!"

Kurai watched as Roxas hesitated, but slowly wrapped his arms around the girl, hugging her back. She also didn't miss the saddened look on his face, as he told Lexi it was no problem.

* * *

The library was the last place Kurai wanted to be, but she had nothing else to do, so she decided to explore parts of the castle she hadn't gone to yet. Saix hadn't given her any missions, and Lexi was about to head out to see Riku soon, so she really didn't have anything to do but sit around and be bored, and the library seemed like the best place to do that.

Well that's what she thought at least, until she heard the door open and saw someone with pink hair walk in. Marluxia didn't even glance in her direction as he walked down an isle, picked up a book, walked back, and sat at one of the tables, before opening the book and starting to read.

Kurai watched him slightly amused-she hadn't thought he'd be the type of person-if he was even considered a person-to go to a library and read. The two hadn't gotten off to a very good start, what with him attacking her and kidnapping her and everything, but slowly she was getting used to him. He still got on her nerves a lot though, since Xemnas still had him following her around most of the time when they left the castle like a prison guard.

She wanted to go over to annoy him, thinking this could actually give her something to do, and she knew the perfect thing to get him riled up. She had heard from Axel a little about the Graceful Assassin's plot, but Lexi had explained more when the younger girl was telling her about all the other members. Apparently he had once tried to overthrow Xemnas, but epically failed thanks to Sora. She had found it funny that he was brave enough to try something like that, considering his rank was pretty low.

Kurai stood up and silently walked over to Number XI, careful not to alert him to her presence. When she was standing behind him, she leaned over his shoulder-smirking slightly when she saw he was reading a mystery novel-before speaking.

"It turns out it was the sister who killed him."

Marluxia jumped-and would have hit Kurai in the face with his shoulder had she not moved back in time. He turned and glared at her, as she continued to laugh. "What the hell was that for?"

Kurai shrugged, as her laughter died down slightly. "You looked so into the book, it was too tempting not to scare you. Speaking of which, how can you even be scared when you don't have emotions?"

Marluxia gave her an annoyed look before turning back around and continuing to read. Kurai stopped her laughing, before taking a seat next to him, and beginning to tap her fingers on the table. She smirked when she noticed the pink head turn slightly to glare at her, before turning away again.

Kurai continued to tap her fingers, finding it amusing every time she noticed Marluxia's hands clench around the book. That is until finally his hand slammed down onto hers, stopping her from tapping, as he gave her a very annoyed look. "Will you knock it off? Its hard to concentrate!"

"Oh is it? I'm sorry." The dark haired girl grinned as Number XI sighed frustrated, and let go of her hand.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked, shutting his book, realizing he wasn't going to get any reading down with her around. "Don't you have some friends to hang out with?"

"Not really. Lexi's getting ready to leave, and Roxas and Axel are both on missions. Demyx is too afraid of me for me to want to hang out with him, so I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Oh joy." Marluxia said sarcastically, turning away from her.

Kurai stared at him a second, before asking something she knew would get him going. "So why'd you try to take over the Organization?"

The Nobody froze, before snapping his head to the girl, eyes narrowed. Guess he was a little touchy when it came to that subject.

"Lexi told me a little more about it than Axel did." Kurai shrugged grinning. "So? Are you gonna answer my question or not?"

Marluxia stared at her for a moment, obviously not sure if he should divulge anything to her or not. He barely knew this girl, what if she went and told Xemnas everything? He sighed, glancing around before giving her a look. "I did it because Xemnas is an incompetent leader, and doesn't deserve to be the head of this Organization." Kurai raised an eyebrow at him, as he continued. "With him leading us, we'll never get anything done because he's always locked up in his room, thinking about that stupid woman."

"'Stupid woman'?" Kurai asked confused, before a picture flashed through her mind of beautiful woman with blonde hair in a photo. "Oh you mean Lexi's mom?"

Marluxia gave her an annoyed look. "Of course, who else? I didn't ever meet her of course, only a few of the original members did, but her being constantly on him mind is making us behind on finishing Kingdom Hearts. Not to mention to add to that, he's always worried about Lexi, and every time she sneaks out or something, he makes us put everything on hold to find her! Its ridiculous!"

Kurai watched the Graceful Assassin as he spoke with a slightly amused expression. She wondered briefly if all the members felt that way about the other girl, and if that's why they all hated her so much. "Alright, so if you hate Xemnas so much, why not try to overthrow him again?"

Marluxia rolled his eyes, obviously having thought of this already. "Yeah because that worked so well the last time. The only reason I'm still alive is because Lexi talked him out of doing anything to us. What makes you think I'd get away with it this time?"

"Because this time I'd be helping you." The dark haired girl smirked, causing Number XI's eyes to widen.

"Excuse me now?"

Kurai grinned. "You heard me. If you really wanna take over the organization, then I'll help you." Marluxia stared at the girl as she stood up, not sure what to think about what she just said. "Just think about."

She gave him one last smirk, before turning and walking out of the library, deciding she had her fun for the night. Remembering her conversation with Marluxia a few minutes ago, she smirked. 'Well, this should make things a lot more interesting.'

* * *

Lexi giggled quietly to herself, swinging her legs back and forth, as she sat on top of the clock tower in Twilight Town. She was waiting for Riku, who was supposed to be meeting her here any minute now. She was excited to tell him about the plan involving Roxas, which would make it easier for her to see him more. Also…..she decided she was going to ask him again about his blindfold. The had talked a lot lately, and gotten a lot closer, so she figured maybe he would trust her enough to tell her more about himself, things that are more personal than just things they like and don't like.

Lexi glanced around quickly, before sighing. "Riku where are you? You're late…."

"Sorry about that." Lexi turned quickly at the voice, to see a smiling Riku, holding two sea-salt ice creams. "I was getting these."

Lexi smiled as he sat down next to her, handing her one of the ice creams. "How did you even get these? Isn't it closed at night?"

Riku shrugged, giving her that mysterious smile that was becoming very familiar to her. "I have my ways."

Lexi giggled. "Well thank you. And its fine that you're late, I was just beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"Now why would I do that? Then I wouldn't get to see you." He said, giving her a playful smile.

Lexi blushed slightly smiling, before looking away and taking a bite of her ice cream. She had never really felt this way about a boy before, so she really wasn't sure how to act, especially since the more she hung out with him, the more she liked him.

Thinking about hanging out with him more, reminded her of the new plan they had. "Oh that's right! Riku we found an easier way so we can see each other!"

The boy looked over at her, after taking a bite of his ice cream. "Really?"

Lexi nodded smiling. "Yep! We're going to tell my father that Roxas and I like each other, that way he can say that he's going to take me on a date, and we can meet up with you without anyone being suspicious of me being out of the castle! Isn't that great?"

However, Riku's expression didn't really make Lexi think he thought it was as great an idea as she did. Actually, he seemed pretty mad. "That's a stupid idea. We can find another way if you're worried about getting caught."

"What? But what's wrong with it?" Lexi asked confused at his sudden anger. She didn't want him to be mad at her, but she didn't think this was that big of a deal. Unless…. "Are you mad because I told my father that I like Roxas?"

"You told him you liked Roxas?" he asked shocked.

"Well it wasn't on purpose! He could tell I was…." She trailed off, deciding not to say she was in love with him yet. "…happier than before, and he knew it was because of a boy. Obviously I couldn't tell him it was you! He would have been furious!"

"So Roxas is a better choice?"

"I didn't know what else to do!" she said, not liking that Riku seemed upset now. She felt like she was going to cry again, and she didn't want to do so in front of him.

Apparently Riku seemed to sense her feelings and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just don't like that you have to pretend you like him is all." He paused. "But if you think this will work, then I guess we can give it a shot."

Lexi turned to him, a smile returning to her face. "I do think it would work. And….I don't like him like that Riku, so don't worry. We're just friends."

This seemed to cheer the boy up a little, as he smiled at her. "Good. Because you could do a lot better than him."

Lexi stared at him a second before smiling again and turning away, as the two became silent, finishing they're ice creams, and thinking about what to talk about when they were done. Lexi didn't know how to ask him about his eyes, but she knew she had to. She really liked his mysterious thing, but the blindfold was really getting to her. She just had to know what his eyes looked liked.

"Um….Riku?" Lexi asked quietly, after the two had finished.

"Yeah?" the boy answered, staring up at the night sky.

"Can I….ask you something?"

Riku turned to her smiling slightly. "You just did." He chuckled at the look she gave him, before smiling again. "Sure. Go ahead."

Lexi smiled slightly, before asking what she's been wanting to for a while now. "Why…won't you show me your eyes?"

Obviously Riku wasn't expecting her to ask that, because he seemed slightly caught off guard at the question. "What?"

"Well I mean…I asked you a few times before, about your blindfold, but you…you always change the subject." The Half-Nobody said quietly, looking down at her lap. "I just want to know why you wear it, and why you don't trust me enough to tell me."

"Its not that I don't trust you." Riku said after a few seconds. "Its just…..complicated." Lexi could feel him watching her, but she didn't look up at him. She knew it was hopeless to ask, but she wanted to give it one more try. Unfortunately it looked like he still wasn't going to tell her. "Its so my eyes can't lie."

Lexi's eyes widened, as she turned to Riku, who was staring ahead of him. "What?" Did he really just answer her?

"The reason I wear the blindfold, is so my eyes can't like." He said, looking over at her. "I'm not proud of using the darkness, and didn't want anyone else knowing what I was doing." Riku paused looking away. "If I take this off, you won't like what I'll become."

Lexi stared at Riku shocked, surprised and happy that he actually told her something more personal about himself. So he was afraid to take off the blindfold, because the darkness would make him something he's not? She could take care of that easily. "I could control your darkness for you."

Riku turned to her again, obviously shocked. "What do you mean?"

"If you take that off, I can control the darkness in you so you don't change." She smiled, getting excited about possibly seeing his eyes finally. "I've been using darkness my whole life, so its second nature to me. With me around, you don't have to worry."

Riku watched her for a second. "You really want to see my eyes that much?" Lexi nodded quickly, still smiling, as she waited for him to make his decision. After a few more seconds, he finally sighed. "Alright. I'll take it off, but you can't tell anyone I showed you okay?"

Lexi's smiled widened as she nodded again. "I promise I won't!" Riku hesitated, before slowly reaching up to the back of his blindfold. "Wait!"

The boy paused and looked at her, obviously confused. "What's wrong?"

Lexi's smile turned shy. "May I….?"

She wasn't expecting him to actually let her take it off, so when he put his hands down, she stared at him shocked. "Well? Go on then." He said, smiling slightly amused at her surprise.

The girl smiled and nodded, before scooching closer to him, so she had a better reach. Slowly and hesitantly she reached behind him, and untied the blindfold. As she moved back, she could feel the darkness in him rise up, but quickly took control of the strong power. The darkness in him was more powerful than she thought it'd be. However, that's not what shocked her. What shocked her was her first look at Riku's eyes.

They were….just as beautiful as the rest of him, but nothing like she thought they'd be. His eyes were a bright blue, and the way they looked at her showed her how nervous and vulnerable he felt to have his blindfold off.

"Wow…." She whispered, more to herself than to him. "You shouldn't cover your eyes."

Riku smiled, and she could now see the emotions he felt, playing in his eyes. She could tell he was happy. "I think I agree. Seeing you without the blindfold is a lot better."

Lexi blushed and looked away, not being able to hide her smile. This had definitely been her favorite time hanging out with him, and she couldn't think of anything that could top this. Well, she could, but she didn't think she had to think about that for a long time.

"You know, it feels good." Lexi glanced up at the boy, and saw him staring at his hands. "To not feel the darkness changing me, I mean." He turned to her and smiled. "I'm glad you're here, Lexi."

Lexi smiled, feeling happier than she's ever felt before. "Me too."

Suddenly, the two turned to look behind them, as they heard footsteps coming towards them. Riku quickly grabbed the blindfold and put it back on, before looking at Lexi. "Same time tomorrow?"

She smiled and nodded, as he stood up, gave her one last smile, and disappeared into a portal. Not a second later, came around the corner. When he saw her, he crossed his arms, looking impatient.

"Axel!" Lexi exclaimed shocked. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her an annoyed look. "You're late. We were supposed to head back 20 minutes ago."

The girl's eyes widened, realizing he was right. She had been having so much fun with Riku that she completely lost track of the time. "Oh I'm so sorry Axel! I wasn't even paying attention!"

"Yeah, yeah. Lets just get going okay?" he said creating a portal as Lexi stood up.

She nodded, walking into the portal as she thought about her time with Riku. She was so happy that he finally trusted her enough to show her his eyes. They were more amazing than she ever thought they could be. She could tell why he hid his eyes, if he didn't want them to lie. When she had stared into them, she could see all of his feelings laid out for her. She remembered his anger about Roxas, and wondered if he had maybe been jealous. She smiled, knowing Riku had nothing to worry about, and decided to think about how much she liked him, and how she couldn't wait to see him again.

* * *

Kurai stood with an annoyed looking Marluxia, as Saix told them about their new mission. Apparently the Graceful Assassin was tired of having to be stuck with her most of the time. She really couldn't care less who she left the castle with, as long as she got to leave. This all white décor was really getting irritating, especially having to see it every second of every day.

"You're orders are to go to Radiant Gardens, and collect hearts. Marluxia you are merely going to keep an eye on Kurai while she collects the hearts from the heartless." Saix said, seeming irritated still about when Xemnas had yelled at him. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta get hearts so they can go to Kingdom Hearts and make you guys stronger or something right?" Kurai said, sounding really impatient. She just wanted to leave, why did he insist on taking so long to explain stuff?

Saix glared at her. "We're completing Kingdom Hearts, so we may gain hearts ourselves, not that it matters to you."

Kurai returned his glare. "Actually since I'm the one collecting the hearts, I'd say it does matter to me. Maybe I don't feel like helping finish Kingdom Hearts, maybe I don't care if you guys have hearts or not."

Before Saix could retort back, Marluxia quickly opened a portal, grabbed Kurai's wrist, and turned to the blue haired Nobody. "We'll be back after we're done with the mission." He said, before pulling an irritated Kurai through the portal.

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"What was that for?" she asked annoyed, after they had arrived in Radiant Gardens. She had wanted to argue more, it was fun getting him riled up.

"I didn't feel like standing there listening to Saix rant any more" Marluxia said, giving Kurai a look. "You shouldn't get him worked up like that, then he takes it out on the rest of us. Mostly Lexi if she unfortunately comes around him when he's like that."

The dark haired girl stared at him a second, before shrugging. "He won't do anything too harsh to her, he wouldn't want to make Xemnas mad remember? He's already done that before." She grinned, remembering the joy she got out of watching Xemnas scold Saix.

"Whatever. Lets just get this mission over with quickly, so we can go home." Marluxia said sighing, as he summoned his scythe.

"I was wondering when you'd show your face again."

The two turned, as Marluxia stared at the newcomer confused, and Kurai smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "Well, well. If it isn't Cloud."

The blonde swordsman glared at her, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, causing Kurai's smirk to widen. She would definitely have to thank Saix for sending her here.

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**A/N: 'Kay well that's it for now! Please please please please please review! We'd really like to know what you guy think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've had this for a while but haven't had time to upload it. This is 4thespada-ulquiorra's chapter, so we both hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Kurai and Lexi.**

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**Marluxia raised an eyebrow, glancing between Kurai and Cloud with what appeared to be genuine curiosity. "Who's this?"

Kurai ignored the question, focusing her cocky smirk on Cloud, whose glare never faltered. "What a rude way to treat your friend, Cloud. You look ready to cut me in half."

The older man did, in fact, look about ready to kill the younger girl-considering his hand was on his sword. "You're not my friend, Kurai, I put up with you at best. Where have you been, and what are you doing with them?" He didn't let go of his sword handle, but he tossed his head in Marluxia's direction for emphasis.

Pretending not to know what his meaning was, Kurai studied the pink haired boy for a moment. "Them? I don't know, I thought there was only one of him. Have you been hiding a secret invisible twin from me, Marluxia?"

The pink-haired Nobody smirked at the comment, but Cloud didn't seem to appreciate the humor behind it. "You know what I mean. Are you _their_ guinea pig now that Maleficent and Ansem are gone? They'll end up being about as useful."

Kurai's lips remained in their taunting smile, but her eyes narrowed slightly as they began to slowly fill in with an eerie purple-red instead of the usual whiteness. "I was never anybody's "guinea pig". That crazy bitch was never stupid enough to think she could control me, and neither was Ansem. You and Xemnas are the only morons who think they're in charge of me." She replied, still in the same taunting tone as before, as if talking to a child.

Cloud's glare intensified, though his determined look seemed to have faltered momentarily in light of her disturbing behavior. Well, good. The troublesome creep was too full of himself for his own good anyway. "You never answered my question, Kurai."

"No, and I don't see why I should." She replied brusquely, moving her hand back to rest on the handle of her own weapon. "Now have you got any other crap to spout right now or are you going to leave anytime soon? I've got a job to do, and you're getting in my way." The pleasant tone vanished completely from her voice, leaving only the usual malice she felt around Cloud. Well, malice and the pressing desire to cut him open like a roasted pig, but with the boy's strength that wasn't going to happen in this century. At least not alone.

"Job? Murder, you mean." Cloud at last drew his sword, holding it in front of him in that goofy fashion of his with a glare that was anything _but_ goofy. "Turning people into heartless isn't what I would call respectable work."

"We're _fighting_ heartless, brat." Marluxia spoke up at last, his words coming out in a bothered huff, but Kurai noticed real anger-as much as she could expect from a Nobody- gleaming in his eyes. "We weren't ordered to fight you, but we will do it if we need to. Now we've got work to do, so either leave or see how long it takes to cut off that inflated head of yours."

The dark haired girl grinned at the idea, but possibly for the better Cloud didn't take the bait. "I'm not afraid of either of you. Leave the town, now, or you'll be the ones regretting it." He warned with an expression that indicated the threat was definitely one he was willing to uphold.

"You know, I think he might be serious." Kurai mused, tapping her chin as if in thought and smirking. "Must think we're afraid of him. Poor guy's delusional."

Marluxia mimicked the expression with a hint of laughter, increasing Cloud's impatience. "Well, that would explain the hair at least. Those spikes are ridiculous. Tell me, do you really need that sword or do you just stab enemies with your hairstyle?"

"Coming from the guy with Barbie-doll pink hair? I wouldn't talk." Kurai sneered, earning an exasperated look from the Nobody. "Anyway, I don't see what we're doing to bother you Cloud, but… well, I'll take any excuse to avoid this boring grunt work. Get us out of here, pinky."

"Pinky?" He let out a long-suffering sigh, probably having heard the nickname plenty of times before. "We're on a mission, we can't just-"

"All right, I'll give it a shot then." The dark haired girl grinned and whipped her axe off her back, holding it in front of her and staring at it for a moment with intense concentration. Both Cloud and Marluxia seemed momentarily distracted by the fact that absolutely nothing was happening until suddenly the weapon's veins began to pulse with the same purple that had taken over Kurai's eyes, though unlike when she had used her earth element before the entire axe was soon glowing, seeping darkness that began to swirl around the two partners. Number XI let out an involuntary shout of surprise as the dark tornado picked up speed and density, and even Cloud seemed momentarily taken aback by the strange display of dark magic.

"Say hi to Sephie for me, would ya?" Kurai's voice had returned to her usual mocking lilt, accompanied by a slight laugh and playful wink as the darkness finally hid her from view entirely, continued for a moment more to swirl like an ominous wind before dissipating at last, leaving only an empty space and eerie stillness where Kurai and Marluxia had been a moment before.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Marluxia's voice echoed uncomfortably in the unusually empty gray room, the only area Kurai was familiar enough to take them.

"Shhh!" The girl glared so intensely that his eyes widened with surprise and he took a step back, cutting off any protests. "I switch elements, I told you already. I can't do darkness much, that's only when I'm really out for blood. Doesn't happen much, but… God dammit, I hate Cloud!" Ignoring her own warning for silence, the girl's voice rose to an angry roar as she swung her fist to the side, slamming it against the wall with a noise somewhere between a crash and the splitting of wood.

Seeming to realize that she was about to either break the wall or wake up a few higher-ups who would not appreciate the gesture Marluxia quickly raised a finger to his lips and put out a hand as if telling her to calm down. "Shut up! Do you want Xaldin to come running in here? He hates being woken up and I'm not going to be punished for your sake. What did that boy do anyway?"

Kurai rolled her still-dark eyes with disgust, crossing her arms over her chest and ignoring the possible threat of dealing with an angry Xaldin. "He's pompous and an idiot, it drives me crazy. The jerk's been on my case for a year now, it's driving me insane. I tried to get Sephiroth to take him out, but it didn't go too well even with me screwing up his sword first." She complained, glaring once more at the wall as if considering further abuse.

Marluxia looked as if he was about to say something that might further the girl's bad mood, but luckily a moment later both were prevented from speaking more by the sudden appearance of a dark corridor. Lexi, with a dazed look of happiness that was faintly comical, stepped through almost immediately and took a few steps further into the room before noticing her company and freezing, blinking in momentary confusion.

"Um… don't you two have a mission?" She wondered, apparently so dazed with leftover lovesickness that she forgot her usual extreme politeness.

"Yup, but Mr. Hair-cement crashed the party and said we had to leave, so there was a quick debate between pissing off him and pissing off Saix and I decided it'd be more fun to piss off Saix, so here we are." Kurai explained quickly, something in her stance warning Marluxia against going into further detail. "Have a nice time with Riku?"

Lexi snapped clearly and fully back to reality at the mention of the silver haired boy, nodding eagerly and thinking back to her earlier conversation-those icy blue eyes flooding her mind and meeting no resistance. "Of course! I can't thank you guys enough for-" Suddenly her voice broke off as she noticed Marluxia and she felt her heart plummet. Number XI wasn't exactly a kind person, if he came to the right conclusion here… "Um, I mean…. I was with Roxas, not Riku."

The Graceful Assassin rolled his eyes at the lie, which was somewhat confusing. She would have expected a cocky smirk, or maybe a laugh. "I already know, but don't worry. I won't go blabbing to your daddy any time soon." He sneered, looking at Lexi with contempt for a moment before turning on his heel and nodding once at Kurai before exiting the room.

"Wh-what?" Lexi blinked a few times in confusion, her mind working overtime to force back images of Riku long enough to think logically. "How did he find out…?"

"He was listening when we planned." Kurai shrugged, seeming unreasonably unconcerned by the fact. "Anyway, he won't rat us out, I'm too useful for that." She added with a playful wink, making it hard to tell if she was kidding or not. It wasn't like she was ever very modest, so chances were she wasn't.

"Useful…?" The half-Nobody shook her head quickly, realizing there was no way she was going to get information out of her friend. "Nevermind. Anyway, thank you so much, Kurai. If you guys weren't helping me…"

"I'm going to start keeping tally here. What, that's thirty times you've said thank you in the last two days?" The taller girl's lips twitched into her usual smirk, virtually translucent eyes bright with laughter. "From now on I'm banning those words, and any variations of them."

Lexi was about to apologize when she noticed Kurai turning and pacing after Marluxia. Apparently, the white haired girl thought with a slight smile, that was her way of saying good night.

* * *

The dim light of twilight was just starting to settle over Radiant gardens when Lexi, with Roxas and Kurai as her escorts, appeared at her usual meeting place. Riku-oddly- hadn't arrived yet, so she sat impatiently on the nearest rock, frowning at the floor for a moment before her eyes opened with surprise when Kurai, a moment later, sat beside her.

"Huh. Brings back memories, right?" The girl mused, looking around the sight of her first confrontation with Lexi and Marluxia not long ago with little interest. "Yeah, me neither. Roxas what are you doing? You're going to make me motion sick or something, sit down."

Roxas glanced up, halting his pacing at the sound of his name and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry… just a bit antsy I guess. Shouldn't we be looking around in case the others show up?"

Lexi had been thinking something similar, but wouldn't dare risk insulting her friends by saying so. Still, she looked up hopefully at her friend-wishing she would at least be gone by the time Riku appeared.

Kurai, it seemed, had other ideas. "Nah, thought we'd wait around a bit. I'd like to get something set up with Riku, fill him in on the plan and all that. Set up better places to meet too, not to mention different times. Same thing every day and you're bound to get spotted or something." The girl explained casually, her cocky smirk making it obvious her intentions had nothing to do with concern for the almost-couple. "So sit your ass down and wait for a few minutes."

"Um… it's okay if you two don't want to just wait around." Lexi piped up nervously, taking care not to sound annoyed or at all insulting. "I can plan something different with him, if you want."

The raven haired girl beside her seemed to sense her anxiety and smirked, happily piping up. "Nah, it's fine, I can wait. He won't be long." As if egged on by her words a dark corridor suddenly flashed into being-or unbeing?- not far from where Roxas was standing, prompting a wider grin to pass over her features. "See? Here he comes now."

Riku, of course, appeared a moment later-no longer wearing his blindfold to Lexi's immediate delight. Kurai didn't take much notice of that, but she did note the boy's suspicious expression when he saw the two unwelcome guests waiting in his usual romantic retreat. The fact that one of these guests was a psychotic friend of his and the other pretending to date his semi-girlfriend probably didn't improve his mood in the slightest.

"Lexi, what are these guys doing here?" The silver haired boy asked, pointedly addressing her and not the subjects of his question, something Kurai didn't miss for a moment.

"Thought we'd have a little talk, Riku." The girl piped up, sounding much too cheery surrounded by all the annoyed or miserable faces of her friends. "We need to get a few new places to meet and all that. If Xemnas thinks Roxas and Lexi are dating he's going to expect them at different places. Chances are someone'll run into you here soon."

Riku scowled at the mention of Roxas' false relationship with Lexi, turning his frustrated gaze to the boy in mention. "Right… I hope you're not getting any ideas about Lexi. Just because Xemnas thinks you two are a couple doesn't mean you are-I don't want you touching her, even for show."

"Wh-what?" Roxas' eyebrows shot up in comical surprise, obviously shocked by the accusation. "I wouldn't! Lexi's just my friend."

The girl in mention lit up scarlet, turning to Kurai with a desperate plea clear on her face. It was obvious from Riku's expression that the boy was in a bad mood, or else just held negative feelings towards his friend's Nobody, and the last thing she wanted was a fight.

Kurai, however, seemed to have different ideas. If she noticed her friend's look she ignored it, instead opting to grin as she witnessed the rising tension between the two boys. "What's wrong, Riku? Upset that you and your little girlfriend won't be able to go public? Don't worry, I'm sure Xemnas won't be suspicious unless those two decide to have a fake-break up and she keeps sneaking out… though he seems to think Roxas is a nice fit for his daughter, so I don't think that'd be necessary." Her eyes glinted innocently, as if she were unaware of the effects her words would have.

Riku's eyes narrowed at the insinuation, turning his angry gaze on the black haired girl for a moment before glaring once again at Roxas. "What, him? I can't see a Nobody being a good match for anybody, let alone for her. He can't even love Lexi, he shouldn't even bother pretending."

Roxas' confused expression slowly morphed into a narrow-eyed glare, his fists clenched at his sides in what seemed to be an involuntary manner. "I sure as hell care about her more than you do! You barely know her, I've been her friend for almost a year. I've been the one protecting her during your stupid little romantic get togethers, all you ever do is risk getting her in trouble again!"

"He doesn't!" Lexi was quick to cut in, turning to Riku immediately with a pleading expression, begging him not to become any angrier. "You don't, I promise. Please, let's just go somewhere else-"

"I never got her in trouble, I saved her life!" The white haired boy's anger was oblivious to her pleading, as focused on Roxas as he was. "And I know all I need to know about her. I know I care for her, and I know I'll treat her better than some brat like you would."

"What are you talking about?" The blue-eyed Nobody's question might have been rhetoric with how little confusion accompanied it, not to mention his narrowed eyes expressed only dislike. "I never talked about how well I'd treat her or anything, I'm her friend, not her boyfriend."

"Though you'd like to be, wouldn't you Roxas?" Kurai's voice was sweet, pretty, and chilling. Lexi actually had to suppress a shiver at the sound, turning to face her dark haired friend with an anxious curiosity. She didn't notice, her gaze fixed on the arguing duo who had both turned to her with varying degrees of confusion and her lips curled up into a satisfied smirk. "What, didn't you know? Roxy-boy here's got a bit of a thing for his would-be-girlfriend over there."

"N-no I don't! That was only so Xemnas wouldn't know about this jerk." Roxas defended quickly, stammering slightly and with a redness to his cheeks Lexi was sure hadn't been there before.

"Cut the crap, Roxas." Kurai said bluntly, not seeming to care much even as she spoke. "I've seen you staring at her, blushing when she touches you, jumping to her will… you're a regular old puppy dog. You like her, clear as day."

Lexi wasn't sure how much to trust her friend in this respect, but it seemed like Riku believed everything he was hearing. His fury intensified, which hadn't seemed possible, and he took a step towards Roxas with a renewed vigor. "You stay away from her. I'll break your neck if you so much as touch her, understand?"

Roxas' embarrassment lasted only a moment longer, shifting almost immediately to the same frustration as before. "Don't act like you own her or anything! Lexi doesn't need your permission to talk to anybody!"

Lexi's own thoughts were fairly similar, but she knew Riku was just angry and decided not to mention anything that would only make the situation worse. Instead, she rose her voice just as the white haired boy opened his mouth to talk and shouted for the first time in a long while. "Shut up! Both of you, stop fighting!"

The two boys momentarily forgot their anger in their shock at hearing the usually docile girl raise her voice like she had. There was a second of silence during which they both stared at her with shock and mild confusion, broken almost immediately by the startling sound of very feminine laughter. Lexi, startled, turned her head toward the sound to see Kurai shaking with genuine laughter, one hand held against her mouth as if to smother it. "Sorry, sorry, but you guys are being really pathetic right now." She apologized before laughing once more in a way that may have been genuine if not for her eyes.

Bright yellow was a color generally associated with happiness, and likely the emotion the girl was feeling at the moment. The color, however, was not what bothered Lexi. What was so unsettling was the sparkling glow of a very cruel joy hidden in their depths, a genuine amusement that spread all the way to her lightly curved lips. For whatever reason, she was loving watching the two boys fight and loving seeing her friend in emotional turmoil as she tried to prevent it. The look in her eyes was one Lexi had never seen before, not even when around the other Nobodies. It was the slightly crazed look of someone who found no better pleasure than causing others pain, and even on such a small scale it was terrifying.

The half Nobody forced herself to clear her head as Kurai's laughter stopped, staring at the other girl for a moment before turning to Riku and stepping forward, gripping his forearm urgently. "Come on Riku, let's go. _Please_."

For a moment it looked like he was about to argue, but something in her expression must have convinced him. With one last glare for Roxas, Riku nodded, opening a portal and leading her through in a way that was borderline possessive. It was taking all of Lexi's energy not to cry or yell once more, and though she might have complained about his manner before now she felt no reason to. He was holding her tightly, as if by doing so he could keep her there forever.

And right then, despite everything, Lexi knew she wanted him to.

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**A/N: 'Kay well that's all for now! I'll try and get the next one out soon! Please review and let us know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to get this out! As usual it took me forever to figure out how to get this started. lol. But after I started it it was pretty easy to write. So, 4thespada-ulquiorra and I hope you like this!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai.**

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Kurai grinned in amusement as she watched Roxas glare at where Lexi and Riku had just disappeared through a dark corridor. That had been a lot more fun than she originally thought. She had just wanted to goad the two boys into a fight for her own amusement, but she didn't expect them both to actually get as angry as they did. She also found it an added bonus that Lexi was so distraught, she hadn't really thought about that at the time.

"What's wrong Roxas? You seem a little upset." The dark haired girl said grinning at the Nobody who was still looking pretty ticked.

He turned to her angrily, taking his frustration out on her. "Why did you tell them I like Lexi? She's just my friend!"

"Oh give me a break kid." Kurai said rolling her eyes. "Like I said, I see the way you look at her all the time, how you treat her like she's the most important thing in the world." She grinned again when the boy looked away, giving her proof she was right. "Just admit you love her-well, as much as you can anyway. How do you feel stuff without a heart?"

Roxas glared at her once more, before looking down, a saddened look crossing his face. "That's exactly why she could never be with me."

"What?" the dark haired girl asked, mildly interested and confused.

"I can't really love her, like you said. Besides, its obvious she has feelings for Riku. So I'm happy with just being friends."

Kurai stared at the younger boy a second, watching as he stared at the ground. It was obvious he _wasn't _happy being just friends, and after another moment, she decided on something else that would help amuse her and pass the time.

"I'll help you get her."

Roxas' head snapped up to see the dark haired girl grinning at him mischievously. "What?"

"I can tell you're lying when you say you wanna just be friends. All I gotta do is feed the girl some lies about Riku, and I can get her to forget all about Riku and fall for you." She said, jumping off the rock she was sitting on and landing gracefully on her feet.

The boy watched her with a shocked expression for a few seconds, before giving her an annoyed and slightly irritated look. "I could never do that to her. I can tell she's happy with Riku, and as long as she's happy, that's all that matters."

Kurai shrugged, not looking bothered. "Fine, whatever you say. But the offer's still there." She paused. "You're pretty noble for a Nobody you know?"

Roxas gave her another annoyed look, before glancing around. "We should probably try to collect some hearts while we're here. It'll give us something to do while we're waiting anyway."

Again, Kurai shrugged and followed the other boy who had started to walk away. She decided she'd have to find something interesting to do once they returned to the castle. Maybe she could start helping Marluxia take over the organization.

_This could be a lot of fun. _She thought grinning, as she prepared to attack some heartless that had just appeared.

* * *

Lexi glanced over at Riku, as the two sat on top of the train station tower in Twilight Town. They hadn't spoken since going through the portal, and the white haired girl was beginning to think today wouldn't be as fun as their meetings normally were. She could tell Riku was angry about Roxas, and she wished Kurai hadn't said anything about the other boy's supposed feelings for her-which she still didn't know if she believed or not, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Roxas having feelings for her would complicate things a lot.

"I'll kill that damn Nobody if he so much as touches you."

Lexi glanced over startled, surprised at Riku's tone-and the fact that his loud voice was the first sound she had heard in a while. "Wh-what? Riku you can't do that!" She knew the silver-haired boy would probably make good on his promise if given the chance. "We're just friends!"

"You heard Kurai, Lexi." Riku said, looking over at her-and she found it hard to concentrate for a moment when she looked into his eyes.

"Yes but you said before you can't always trust her right?" Lexi said after regaining her focus.

The boy watched her a second before looking up at the sky. "I don't want to take any chances on losing you to someone else."

Lexi's eyes widened, as she felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks. Did he really just say what she thought he did? "You…what?"

Riku turned to her and smiled-and Lexi had to catch her breath, again. "I don't want to lose you, Lexi. I really like you. I figured that was obvious."

She was too happy to pay attention to his playful tone at the end. Lexi kind of figured he liked her, but to actual hear him say it was completely different. She smiled blushing again and looked down shyly. "I…I like you too, Riku. And you won't lose me. Not ever…"

"Well, I can't be sure." The boy said, looking a lot happier now than he had been. "Like I said, I'm not taking a chance. You're too important to me."

Lexi smiled, blushing even more as she felt her heart flutter. Getting up some courage, she slid over so she was closer to Riku, and leaned into him. "And like I said, you'll never lose me."

As Riku put his arm around her, Lexi didn't think anything could ever make her happier than she was at this moment in time.

* * *

Kurai leaned against a boulder as her and Roxas waited for Lexi to return. The two had killed some heartless while they passed the time, and since they both were able to collect hearts, Saix should be damn well grateful they worked on their day off. Hell, he should be happy she worked at all.

"Where are they? They're late!"

Kurai glanced over and noticed the young Nobody standing with his arms crossed, looking agitated. It was clearly obvious he didn't want Lexi spending time with Riku, and Kurai found this quite amusing.

"Relax. I'm sure they'll be back soon." She grinned, knowing what she was going to say would definitely make the boy mad. "Unless they got caught up in doing something _fun_, then they'll probably be gone for a while still."

Thankfully for her, it seemed Roxas understood her insinuation, as she noticed the boy's hands clench tightly, and his eyes narrowed greatly. "Lexi wouldn't do that!"

The dark haired girl raised an eyebrow amused. "Oh yeah? And why not?"

"Because….because she just wouldn't!" The boy stuttered, only causing Kurai to become more amused.

Unfortunately she was cut off from saying anything as a dark corridor appeared nearby. The two looked over as Riku and Lexi walked out, both wearing pretty different expressions than they were when they left. They both looked like they were the happiest people in the universe, and Kurai figured they very well could be.

"Oh look, seems like they weren't having too much fun." She grinned, earning a glare from Roxas and mildly confused looks from the other two.

Lexi didn't pay too much attention to what the dark haired girl said, instead choosing to look at Roxas, hoping he wasn't still angry. "I hope you two weren't bored waiting for us."

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but Kurai cut him off. "Nah, we had a lot of time to bond and become best buddies."

Roxas glared at her a second, before smiling slightly at Lexi. "We decided to collect some hearts while we were waiting. Are you ready to go?" He added, narrowing his eyes at Riku, who glared right back.

Lexi, not wanting another fight like earlier, decided to intervene. "Yes. I am." She looked up at Riku and smiled. "I guess I'll see you later?"

The silver haired boy decided to ignore the other boy, and turned to Lexi, smiling. "Definitely." He glanced at Kurai. "You won't have an escort next time will you?"

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes. "Roxas has to come with her, idiot. Otherwise Xemnas won't think they're on a date." She grinned slightly at Riku's annoyed look at that. "But I haven't decided if I'm going to come or not. Since it seems like you don't want me to I just might have to chaperone these two again. I mean, we can't have them doing anything they shouldn't right?"

"I'll try to figure something out!" Lexi said quickly, not wanting the others to fight. She hated when the people she cared about fought. She looked up at Riku. "We can meet at Twilight Town next?"

Riku nodded once, glaring at Roxas. "Remember what I said Roxas. Lay one finger on her, and you're dead."

"Is that a threat?" Roxas asked, returning the glare.

"No. It's a promise." Lexi's eyes widened, before she grabbed Riku's arm, as she noticed him take a step forward.

"Riku don't! Please!" she pleaded.

Fortunately he decided to listen to her, as he relaxed slightly. Lexi sighed, thankful things seemed to be calming down.

"Fine." He glanced at the other two, before smiling down at Lexi. "I'll see you later then."

She smiled back, as he created another dark corridor. "Yeah." She watched as he gave her another smile, glanced at Kurai and Roxas again, then walked through the portal as it disappeared.

Kurai grinned at the other girl's slightly dazed expression. "So, you ready to go then?"

"Huh?" Lexi said slightly confused, turning to look at her friend. "Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Then lets go." Roxas said, his tone sounding annoyed as he opened a portal back to the castle.

Lexi turned her confused look to the boy, not used to him being like that towards her. She remembered what Kurai had said earlier, about him having feelings for her, and wondered briefly if that was true. She really hoped it wasn't….

"Yeah lets go. You can think about your lover boy later." Kurai said, grinning again at the reactions from the two younger teens- Lexi's blush and Roxas' glare.

Roxas walked through first, after giving Kurai one last glare. Lexi sighed, deciding she'd eventually have to talk to her friend to set things straight, otherwise things might begin to get very awkward between them. And the last thing she wanted was to lose one of the only few friends she had.

_

* * *

__Sometimes this castle is so lame. _Kurai thought as she walked through the halls of the Organization's castle. It had been a few days since she accompanied Lexi and Roxas on their "date". She decided she wouldn't go with them again after all. It may have been kind of fun, but she could think of better ways to spend her time.

Kurai stopped in the hall, noticing a door to her right that said "XI" and underneath "The Graceful Assassin". And this was the perfect way to spend her time. She walked over and opened the door without bothering to knock, and looked around, not all that entirely shocked by what she saw. There were flower pots in the room with some really pretty flowers in them, not that she ever really cared for plants that much. The walls were tinted a light pink, and the rest of the room had flowery and vine designs on some of the dressers and such. She had to admit it wasn't as girly as she thought it'd be.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Kurai looked up, just now noticing the Graceful Assassin sitting on the end of his bed, glaring at her with his scythe in his lap. It looked like he was polishing it or something.

"No not really." She said, grinning as he rolled his eyes annoyed.

"What do you want?"

Kurai shrugged, still looking around. "Seriously dude, what's with all the flowers?" she asked, ignoring his question.

Marluxia gave her an annoyed look. "I happen to like them, now answer my question."

The dark haired girl continued looking around for a few more seconds before grinning at him. "I figured we could start working on taking this place over."

"What?" This apparently caught the pink haired Nobody off guard.

"I told you before I'd help you take over the Organization, right?" Kurai asked, walking over and sitting next to him on the bed. "So, lets go."

Marluxia stared at her, not entirely sure what to think. "You were….serious?" When she shrugged, he added "Why?"

"Because I hate being treated like a dog who's supposed to bark at Xemnas' command. I told you I don't like being controlled." Kurai frowned at the wall a second, before turning to him and grinning again. "Besides, it sounds like fun."

Number XI watched her for a few moments, as she looked around his room again, obviously trying to find something else to make fun of. There was something very strange about her, but he didn't entirely hate it. "You know, you're very different than any other girl I've ever met." He said smiling.

Kurai looked over at him, eyebrows raised slightly. "Oh yeah? And is that a good or bad thing?"

"It could go either way." The Graceful Assassin said smirking, and suddenly Kurai felt something strange in her. She thought her heart might have skipped a beat, but no. She had to have imagined it. She wasn't the type to have those kinds of feelings for anyone. Especially not a Nobody. But still, as she watched the pink haired man continue to polish his scythe, she couldn't help but feel she didn't mind being around him as much as she used to.

* * *

Lexi laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, as she thought about her dates with Riku. Her heart skipped a beat every time she thought about him. She was even more excited now that he seemed to not wear his blindfold around her anymore, and she was glad she could see his crystal blue eyes every time she saw him.

But now, whenever she went to meet with him with Roxas, she couldn't help feeling awkward between the two. Both boys would glare at each other the moment they met, and Lexi would have to try to diffuse the tension and leave with Riku as quickly as she could. They both seemed to hate each other more each time they saw each other.

And that was another problem. Roxas. Lexi still wasn't sure if what Kurai had said before was true, but the boy had been mostly avoiding her since being called out on his feelings. The only time she saw Roxas anymore was when they were going on their "dates". Apparently this hadn't gone unnoticed by Xemnas, since her father had called her to his room and asked her about it. She hastily told him everything was fine, and that her and Roxas were as happy as they could be. Though that may have been true about herself, she wasn't so sure the same went for Roxas.

Suddenly, Lexi sat up quickly, coming out of her thoughts as a dark corridor appeared in her room. She immediately got ready to summon her fans, not sure what to expect. What if Saix was coming to hurt her for something she did? But then he'd probably just bust down the door or something.

Thankfully, it appeared she had nothing to worry about, since her face immediately lit up as she saw a head of silver walk out of the portal just as it closed. "Riku!" she said happily, but her happiness quickly changed to shock and worry. "What are you doing here? If my father's awake he'll know you're here! Somehow he can sense dark corridors in the castle!"

"Relax, it's late, everyone should be sleeping." He said, giving her a look telling he thought she should be doing the same.

She smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't sleep. But what are you doing here?"

"Well I didn't get to see you today, so I figured I'd drop by." He smiled, looking around her room. "It's very….white in here."

Lexi smiled, her heart fluttering as she thought about the fact that Riku came to see her because they didn't meet today. She never thought he'd actually come straight here. "I know. That's why I hate it so much in here." She sighed and looked down. "My father tries to keep me here as much as possible."

"He seems really protective of you." Riku said, walking over and sitting next to her on the bed-which caused her heart to speed up slightly. "How come?"

Lexi shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think it has something to do with my mother though."

"Your mother?" he said, sounding interested. They had never really talked about their parents before, she figured Riku didn't like to talk about them, and the same went for her.

"Yes." Lexi leaned over and grabbed the picture off her desk, handing it to him. "She died not long after I was born, and my father has been raising me ever since. I guess he thinks it's the least he could do after what happened to her…."

"You….say she's dead?" Riku asked, a slightly confused look on his face.

Lexi nodded. "Why?"

"She can't be. I've seen her before." He said, and Lexi's eyes widened shocked.

"What? But that's impossible."

Riku looked up at her, a serious look on his face. "I'm not kidding about this Lexi. This woman is alive. She lives in Radiant Gardens, and owns a flower shop."

The Half Nobody stared at him shocked and confused. She couldn't understand what Riku was saying. There was no way her mother could be alive. "But she can't be! My father told me…"

She trailed off, not sure what to think anymore. When she was younger, she had asked her father why she didn't have a mother, and he had told her she did, but she went away, and left him to look after her. When she was a little older, she had asked again, and he had confirmed that her mother had died when she was a couple days old. But….what if he lied?

"Lexi?" The girl looked up at Riku, and saw the worried look he was giving her, but she just couldn't believe it. Her father never lied to her.

"No! You're lying! My mother is dead! My father would never lie to me!" she argued, her voice becoming slightly hysterical.

Riku sighed and gave her a hard look. "I'm not lying Lexi. I'm just telling you what I saw. The woman in this picture is alive. Whether you believe me or not is your choice." He handed her the picture back and stood up. "But you need to open your eyes and realize your father isn't as perfect as you think he is."

Lexi stared at him wide eyed with shock, as he made another dark corridor, and disappeared in it. She couldn't believe what just happened. Did she really just have her first fight with Riku? She looked down at the picture in her hand, trying to put all of this together. If Riku was wrong, then he was lying to her. But why would he do that? And if he was right, then her father had been lying to her her whole life.

_Why does everything have to be so complicated in my life? _She thought, as the fell back on her bed, knowing she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I tried to put in a little more KuraiXMarluxia romance, since someone asked for it, but 4thespada-ulquiorra doesn't want their relationship to move too fast, so i put as much as I could!^.^ Anyway, please review and let us know what you think and we'll try to get the next one out soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So sorry it took so long to get this out! My co-writer has been busy and this was her chapter, so we both apologize! But anyway, we hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai. =)**

* * *

"Is my mother alive?"

Lexi froze, hands clasped over her mouth, stunned by her own boldness. Xigbar, towards whom this question had been directed, didn't seem merely as taken aback as the girl herself was. In fact, he answered without so much as a second's hesitation.

"Nope. Sorry kiddo, but that's not changing anytime soon." He replied, sounding more amused than might have been entirely appropriate for the situation. "Watching zombie movies or something?"

Lexi shook her head, still too embarrassed to be properly disappointed. "Of course not, I just… Wanted to make sure." Xigbar. _Why_ had she started with Xigbar? It was all Axel's fault, she should have known better than to take the fire-wielder's advice.

Riku's words had presented a problem. Lexi had accepted that she had no mother and learned to content herself with what she had, rarely paying the woman in the picture on her dresser much attention. Yet now, thanks to a passing comment from the silver-haired boy, she was haunted by the miniscule hope that maybe, just maybe, her mother wasn't really dead. But why would Xemnas lie to her? Asking him wasn't an option, and she might have just left it at that and done her best to forget what Riku had said.

But then Axel had to go and suggest she ask the other members. The founders had been there since she was born, he'd pointed out, if Riku was telling the truth they would know. A great idea in theory, but Lexi hadn't forgotten that nearly all of the Organization XIII hated her, or was at the best indifferent. Yet she hadn't wanted to give up, to let go of this thread of hope now that it had presented itself. So she had gravitated towards the most welcoming of her 5 possibilities, and in her anxiety blurted out her question without a moment's preamble in the middle of the hallway, where anybody might be listening.

_At least Saix didn't see that._ She thought, feeling miserably foolish. There was another problem- if her father's second-in-command caught her asking around he was bound to tell Xemnas, and Lexi didn't want her father to think she didn't trust him.

"Right. Well, tell that kid to stop telling you crap like this, you'll delude yourself." Xigbar replied cheerfully, giving her no time to respond before vanishing in a quickly made corridor of darkness.

'That kid'? Did Xigbar know about Riku? Lexi felt her heart skip a beat and suddenly found it was difficult to stand upright. But that was ridiculous- he probably was just referring to Axel, or even Roxas. When had she become so paranoid?

"Wow, you look like crap. You know, I'd say you looked like you'd seen a ghost if I didn't know you were searching for one. So what's the big deal?" Kurai's voice, as ever with that subtle tone of mockery, came so suddenly that Lexi nearly jumped, whipping around far more tensely than she normally might have done.

God, she _was_ paranoid. But who could blame her? If Xemnas found out she was asking about her mom she would be in trouble. If _anybody_ found out about Riku, they'd _both_ be in trouble. No wonder she was so uptight. "N-nothing… I um… just startled, that's all."

"By Xigbar?" the dark haired girl raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Girl, unless he starts stripping his clothes in the middle of the hall and singing Lady Gaga nothing that guy does should surprise you anymore. Heck, give him a bit too much tequila…"

"I guess I'm just jumpy then." Lexi replied quickly, certain she didn't want to hear about anything the older man did when he was drunk. "So, um… H-how are you doing? You've been here for awhile now…"

"Eh, it's not too bad. I don't like being Xemnas' little hound dog, but it's way more interesting than those stupid islands." Kurai grinned in a way that made Lexi sure she didn't want to know _what_ made it so interesting to live in the castle. "Anyway, screw that. You're avoiding the subject. You wanna know about your mom, why not just go see if Riku was right?"

"H-how did you-?"

"Axel told me, didn't seem to think it was much of a secret."

"O-oh…" Right. She _had_ told Axel and Roxas as soon as she'd calmed down after talking to Riku, so why not Kurai? After all, they were friends too… but she still wished the red-head hadn't said anything. "Well, I-I just…"

"You scared or something?" The taller girl laughed. Lexi shrugged uncertainly, and slowly a grin broke out across Kurai's face. "You _are_ scared! That's so great! Aren't you going to do _anything_?"

For a moment the white-haired girl was too taken aback to respond, but slowly she managed a nod. "I was going to talk to the founders…"

"Ah, that explains why you were talking to Xigbar. Well, time is money and all that, let's not waste it." Suddenly Kurai had hooked her arm with Lexi's and begun to march her down the hall.

"W-wait, now? I don't think-"

"Why not?

"I-I'm not ready, I have to prepare, I don't-"

"Sheesh, you're asking them where your mom is, not out on a date. You'll do fine." Kurai rolled her eyes and continued her march until she came to the room of their very own Cloaked Schemer. "You may as well start small, right? Well, good luck."

She raised a pale hand and knocked, the sound echoing like a gunshot, three times on the door before turning on her heel and heading down the hall. "W-wait! You're not staying?" Lexi stammered.

"Course not, ain't my mom is it?" The taller girl scoffed as if she couldn't believe her friend's ignorance and continued on her way, not so much as glancing back.

Great, just great. Lexi pondered running away before Zexion could open the door, but even as she began to do so she was frozen by the sound of a door knob turning, and moments later was face-to-face with the youngest founder.

Zexion was the worst person for Kurai to have dragged her to. He was Roxas' age, but he had made it clear that he wasn't looking for friends amongst the younger members. She had tried to approach him once or twice, and each time he merely glared at her until she was so uncomfortable she had to leave. Even to the other founders he was distant and emotionless, and there wasn't a single Nobody in the organization who didn't find him at least a little scary.

"What do you want?" He demanded coldly, and Lexi realized it looked as if she'd just been banging on his door.

"O-oh, that wasn't me, that was…" She glanced down the hallway and gulped; Kurai was long gone. "N-nevermind. I um, I wanted to ask you something. If you don't mind."

He stared at her, saying nothing. After waiting for an answer for a few moments she supposed that was as much consent as she was going to get, and after a few deep breaths she managed to ask him if he knew whether her mom was really alive or not.

To Lexi's surprise he didn't laugh, or roll his eyes, merely studied her for a moment before responding. "I can't help you. Ask Vexen."

"Vexen…?" Lexi was taken aback, not only because the boy had actually responded but because she'd never heard of IV being helpful to anybody but Xemnas, and that was reluctantly.

Zexion nodded briefly. There was a long, excessively awkward silence as she waited once again for him to say anything which ended with him going back into his room and closing the door without another word. Wow, did he make her nervous. She'd even forgotten to thank him, though she had a feeling he wasn't too bothered by that.

"_Ask Vexen." _Did he know something about her mother that the others didn't know? Zexion might have just been saying he didn't know anything and to ask someone else, it wouldn't have been too odd for his friend's name to pop up. But somehow Lexi knew that wasn't it, knew the Chilly Academic would at least be able to prove her questions were pointless. Even so, she was scared to ask him. Not just because she might get caught or because he was intimidating, but because he _might_ have proof. She didn't want to give up on her mother.

Asking Vexen, then, was out. The other founders wouldn't have much to tell her either, and it would be idiotic to ask anyone else. There was just one option left-

She would look for her mother herself.

* * *

Marluxia's room was pretty much bare- all white without even one of the boy's roses in sight. Kurai found it extremely dull, but right now wasn't the time for fussing over his poor decorating skills- they had plotting to do.

"So, its seriously just the two of us? How lame." She scoffed, flopping casually onto his bed and reclining.

He shot her an annoyed glance before sitting across from her in a chair, looking very pointedly at the shoes she was still wearing. "I've been forbidden from talking to Larxene in private situations. You know those sheets are white, correct?"

"Yeah, whatever. So what about the others? There's gotta be someone else, this is just lame." The raven-haired girl complained. "What about Xigbar?"

"He would shoot you for asking then report me to Xemnas."

"Axel?"

"He's the one who caught us last time."

"Demyx? Bet I could scare him into it."

"You're hardly a bigger threat than Xemnas is."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, mansex is scary." Kurai rolled her eyes, unbothered by the comment. "You guys are all so damn obedient, you need a nice touch of rebellion."

"Oh?" Marluxia said, raising an eyebrow. "And what makes you such a rebel then?"

Finally he'd asked. She grinned her usual lion's grin, looking as if she was remembering a particularly successful hunt. "Easy. Those keyblade brats all think that when I went to work for Maleficent last year it's because I was possessed by the darkness or whatever, like Riku was. They all think I was let go of its control when they got rid of Ansem, but I just switched sides when mine lost. That jackass Cloud's the only one who figured it out." She purred, amused as ever by the remembered idiocy of her companions.

The pink haired boy seemed mildly taken aback, probably because he'd had no idea she'd turned against her friends in the first place, but he recovered easily enough. "Speaking of Cloud, I've been wondering- what makes you so afraid of him?"

Kurai froze, her cocky grin replaced with a wary glare. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I could tell you were scared of Cloud, I was curious why." He explained cautiously, apparently surprised by her venomous reaction.

"I'm not afraid of Cloud!" She shouted, sitting up straight and looking so furiously at the taller boy that he took a wary step backwards. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Calm down." He snapped, bemused. "I'm not insulting you, I just wish to know why-"

"I'm not!" Kurai was breathing hard, surprised by her own anger. She _wasn't_ scared of Cloud, no way in hell. "I didn't run away from that prick, I took us out of there because I wanted to piss off Saix, that's _it._"

"And fighting Cloud wouldn't have prevented you from doing that." Marluxia pointed out. He was right, of course, and that only made her heart beat faster with panic- he was lying, that's it.

"I didn't want to waste my time!" She protested, gulping almost audibly in the midst of breathing so quick it was almost hyperventilation. "Y-you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Calm _down_." He demanded, looking absolutely bewildered. "What is wrong with you? Do I need to get Vexen in here?"

Perhaps if she hadn't been so anxious Kurai would have recognized the strangeness of Marluxia offering to call the Organization's improvised doctor for her- that sort of gesture wasn't a common one for the pink-haired man. "I'm freaking fine, you idiot! You're just lying!"

"Lying? How am I lying? I just asked you what Cloud did to make you afraid of him."

"Well I'm _not_ okay? I'm not!" Kurai practically screamed, her throat sore from the effort of it. Perhaps he saw it was best not to say anything, for Marluxia didn't respond beyond taking another step away from the enraged girl. That only made her angrier- why wasn't he answering? Did he think _she_ was lying? "I'm not afraid of him, goddamn it!"

And she rushed from the room, leaving a very perplexed Nobody behind her.

* * *

Lexi wasn't coming.

Riku had realized, and expected, this for quite some time-but even so he waited over two hours at the usual spot for the silver-haired girl to appear. At that point he was about to stand to leave, feeling like a fool for upsetting her like he had, when a dark corridor appeared not ten feet away. He turned eagerly, expecting to see Lexi, but instead summoned his keyblade and took on a battle stance when he caught sight of a Nobody with a much larger figure than hers.

"Calm down, keyblade brat." The figure drawled, flipping back his hood to reveal a brilliant mess of pink hair. "I'm not here for a fight."

"Marluxia." Riku growled, remaining as he was. "Then what do you want?"

The taller man didn't seem at all bothered to have a dangerous weapon pointed at him, in fact he seemed too preoccupied to even notice. Was it Riku's imagination or was he actually… nervous? "I need to talk to you."

"What could you possibly have to talk to me about?"

"Woman trouble."

Riku was tempted to laugh- a Nobody was having girl trouble, and coming to _him_ of all people for advice. Then he realized the other man was serious, and prepared to tell him to back off before he earned a sword to the face. And then he remembered that this man had known Lexi far longer than he had.

"…Fine. Sit down, on your hands. I don't want you summoning that scythe." Riku ordered, waiting until Marluxia had done so-with a look of great amusement- before sitting himself. "What is it?"

"Kurai." He sighed with exasperation. "That woman is absolutely ridiculous. You've known her longer."

Oh, wow. "Then we're in the same position. You can tell me about Lexi."

"If you help me."

"Deal. Now, start talking."

Marluxia shrugged, then gave Riku a quick summary of yesterday's events. "And then there's the fact that she acts like she despises my very existence one moment, and then acts like best friends the next."

Perhaps it was merely how bizarre the situation was, but Riku couldn't help laughing out loud, earning a glare from the other boy. "None of this should surprise you by now. Kurai is… cruel. Even to us, her friends, she can be absolutely horrid. She has very harsh ways of showing affection, and I've never seen an ounce of open kindness from her."

"Wonderful." Marluxia muttered with a frustrated curse. "Then how does one tell how she actually feels?"

"You don't. Of course, once she decides for herself she'll tell you." Riku assured, remembering a very awkward moment during which Kurai had marched straight up to Kairi and told her that she had recently decided that she hated her, then proceeded to list the reasons why.

"Woman are ridiculous."

"No, just the one you're after."

Marluxia raised an eyebrow at the comment, but rather than protest he smiled slyly. "I very well might be, I haven't decided yet. You've already got hold of Lexi, though, what problem could you possibly have?"

"One, I do not "have hold" of her." Riku snapped, sighing with frustration as the man merely shrugged in reply. "Two, I've upset her. I saw a picture of her mother, and I told her I'd seen her at Radiant Gardens. She owns a shop there."

"And Xemnas' little princess thought you were lying." The pink haired man grinned, apparently amused by this. "Well, she's a very sensitive girl. She probably thought you were trying to make fun of her."

"I know that." Riku retorted. "What I want to know is… Around me she's one of the nicest girl's I've ever met, but it's not hard to tell she's shy. How is she at your castle? She doesn't talk about her life there, I have no idea if anything's wrong with her or…"

Marluxia studied him for a moment, responding only when Riku began to glare impatiently. "Well, have you told her anything about _you_?"

"Well, no… I can't."

"Then I shouldn't say anything about her."

"But-"

"I didn't say I _wouldn't_, just that I shouldn't." He added before the silver-haired boy could protest anymore. "I could hardly care less about her privacy. None of us do- she's very poorly received. Axel and Roxas, now Kurai I suppose, are the only ones who will talk to her as a friend. Some of the members see her as a threat because she is Xemnas' daughter, others simply hate her for her, as you put it, "niceness". Plus she isn't a true Nobody-she's an outcast."

"Goddamn it." Riku growled and stood up, clenching his keyblade as if wishing one of Lexi's tormenters was there for him to use it on. "If anyone of them hurt her I swear I'll kill them."

"Relax, she's under the superior's protection." Marluxia replied calmly, looking at the younger boy with a sort of intrigue. "Why so worked up?"

"Because I want to protect her." Snapped Riku, brandishing _Way of the Dawn_ as if blaming the pink-haired Nobody for his allies' behavior.

"Now why would you want to do that?"

"I care about her, and if you care about someone you don't let anyone else hurt them. Or get away with having had hurt them." He added, making a mental note to do some serious damage to the next Organization member he came across.

Surprisingly, Marluxia seemed taken aback by this. He was silent for awhile with an unusually thoughtful expression, and Riku was too busy fuming to initiate a conversation so not a word passed between them for quite some time. Then, "Why _is_ Kurai afraid of Cloud?"

Riku stopped his pacing, turning to look at the Nobody and seeing, much to his surprise, an expression similar to what his own had been moments ago. "…You're pretty perceptive. Not many people could pick that up."

The Nobody didn't respond other than to nod smugly as if to say "I know I'm awesome, now get on with it". Riku sighed and sat down once more, amused to see that Marluxia had not only remained sitting but had actually sat on his hands as requested. "When Kurai and I betrayed Sora only Cloud refused to believe it when we came back. He knew about what the darkness could do to you and forgave me easily enough, but he hated Kurai because he could always tell she wanted to go back- she wanted more power. So Kurai hated him, said he was an over-reacting goody-two-shoes. She's not the most reasonable person. Then Cloud did something that shook her so badly she couldn't so much as talk to him for weeks."

Marluxia was no longer looking indignant on Kurai's behalf, instead intrigued and a little over-eager. "Which was?"

Riku hesitated. He was sure this man couldn't be trusted, but then again neither could Kurai- though that didn't change the fact that the girl had been one of his best friends through a very rough part of both their lives. Though it seemed the Graceful Assassin was, in some odd way, concerned about her, Riku didn't doubt he was asking partially for selfish reasons. Still, he had told him about Lexi…

"Tell me you'll protect her. Keep all your freak friends away from Lexi unless they're going to be civil, and tell me if they're not. Either I'll go in there and make them regret it or you can do it for me." He demanded.

"Hmph, smart kid." Marluxia shrugged, nodding. "Fine, fine, you've got a deal. Now out with it. What did Cloud do?"

Riku smiled grimly, noting once more the greedy curiosity etched into the pink-haired man's face before replying. "He saved her life."

* * *

Radiant Gardens had never looked so imposing as it did that night. Lexi found she could hardly even look at the place, flinching at sudden sounds and cringing away from approaching passerby, hoping and dreading that she may see her mother's face amongst them. Riku had told her where her mother's shop supposedly was, and she knew she could find it if she went quickly.

But she couldn't bring herself to walk.

The idea of dragging her feet forward and figuring out, once and for all, whether the silver-haired boy was lying or not seemed as daunting a task as any she had ever completed. Lexi was sure she looked pathetic, hesitating with each step so that she moved at barely a snail's pace, but she was too miserable to care.

She was just debating the possibility of going back when a corridor appeared beside her, causing her to flinch so violently she almost fell over. But no, wait…. This wasn't like the ones Nobodies made- this was larger, more violent, and attracting much more attention from quite a few panicking citizens.

Out of the whirlwind passage stepped none other than Kurai, her eyes a swirl of colors that altered so often Lexi could hardly tell what they were at any time. The girl was clearly pre-occupied by something, but she caught sight of her younger friend right away.

"You're gonna be in big trouble if anyone but me sees you're gone." She pointed out boredly. "Love to see what Saix'd do. What the hell're you doing here anyway?"

"I-I'm going to… I wanted to see if Riku…" Lexi stammered, cut off almost immediately.

"Right, mommy issues. Whatever. I _was_ going to hunt down a certain flower-boy, but… No, guess I'll just go with you." Kurai decided, brushing a disheveled strand of black hair aside and smirking as if this news should have the white-haired girl jumping for joy.

"Wait, why…?"

"Not to see her or anything, God you're such a dork. You look like you're 'bout to pass out, probably couldn't find a brick wall." She pointed out brightly, the insult built by the ridiculous amount of brick walls present in Radiant Gardens. "Look, you were freaked out 'bout askin' around too, right? Well I'm here to give ya a boost's all."

Lexi wanted to refuse, to insist they go back to the castle or to protest that she had merely been there to visit Riku. But she saw that, in some twisted way, Kurai was being friendly- and in truth she didn't think she could face the trip to that shop alone.

"A-all right, thank you." She whispered at last.

Kurai grinned like a cat that had cornered a mouse, which was extremely unsettling considering the situation. "No problem. What're friends for, eh?"

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**A/N: Well that's it for now! We hope you liked it, and I promise I'll try to get my chapter out soon! Please review and let us know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out! I couldn't figure out how to write what we wanted to happen. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, just Lexi and Kurai.**

* * *

Lexi stood outside the flower shop with Kurai, just staring at the building, not wanting to go in. Now that she had found the shop her mother supposedly owned, she couldn't bring herself to enter it. What if the woman from the picture was actually in there? That would mean Riku was telling the truth after all…and her father had lied to her. Either way, she didn't like the outcome.

"Oh just go in already!" Kurai exclaimed with a sigh of impatience. She was sick of just standing there doing nothing.

"But I…..I can't!" Lexi said nervously, looking at her taller friend. "What if she's in there? Then my father…."

"Then you finally realize your dad's a liar." The black haired girl said as the younger girl looked down sadly.

"But I don't want that…."

"Well would you rather your mom be dead?"

"No!" Lexi exclaimed a little too loudly, causing a few passersby to glance over. "I mean…..I don't know…. I don't even know what I'd say to her…"

"Well guess you better decide huh? Anyway, I'm going to find flower boy. Good luck." Kurai grinned, before opening the door to the flower shop, shoving the younger girl in, and walking away.

"Hey!" Lexi exclaimed shocked, turning to the door to see her friend walking away. _Oh man…. _

The white haired girl turned around, glancing around the shop. Tons of different kinds of flowers were set up on shelves along the walls, and were on display on some decorated tables. It was a very nice looking little place.

"I'm sorry, I'm getting ready to close. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

Lexi glanced up at the voice, noticing a woman come out from the back. Immediately, the girl thought her eyes were deceiving her. They had to be. This woman had long blonde hair, pulled up into a ponytail, and beautiful blue eyes, lit up even more by the kind smile she wore. She couldn't believe it. Riku had been right. Her father had lied to her, and everyone else had played along. Her mother was alive, and standing right in front of her.

* * *

Kurai walked around Radiant Garden, looking around for the pink haired Nobody she ran out on earlier. She thought she should probably feel bad about that, but….well she didn't. He really pissed her off saying she was afraid of Cloud. No way in hell was she afraid of that spikey haired freak!

"What am I supposed to do?" she heard someone sigh, someone who sounded very familiar.

"I don't know, just…..tell her how you feel." Another familiar amused voice said, sounding like they were trying not to laugh.

Kurai, being curious, walked around the corner, only to stop, seeing two people sitting down, having a conversation. And it was two people she didn't ever think she'd see like that. Being the type of person she was, the dark haired girl couldn't help but bust out laughing.

The two guys looked over, eyes widening at the girl's interruption. Obviously they didn't expect to be found there, which just made Kurai enjoy interrupting them even more.

"What are you doing here, Kurai?" Riku asked, standing up.

"Came to find pinky here." She chuckled, gesturing to Marluxia, who had stood up as well. "Didn't realize you two were having a date."

The two glanced at each other, disgusted looks on their faces. "Hardly." The pink haired Nobody said. "I needed some….advice."

"Right, right. A Nobody needing advice. On what?" she asked, crossing her arms looking amused. When the two glanced at each other awkwardly, Kurai remembered what she heard when she first saw them. "So who are you supposed to confess your feelings to?"

So help her, Marluxia actually blushed before looking away. "No one. We were just talking."

"You expect me to believe that? Come on, I won't tell anyone. Is it Larxene?" Kurai grinned when the Nobody glared at her.

"Definitely not."

"Lexi?"

"God no."

Kurai glanced at Riku, amused at his slightly annoyed look. "I guess not. This one'd probably kill you for that. So what are you doing here? Aside from giving him 'advice'?"

"I….I had some questions about Lexi. That's all." The silver-haired boy said.

"Oh that's right. She's mad at you isn't she?" She ignored the glare she earned. "Its your own fault. You should have left the thing about her mom alone."

Riku glared at her. "I was just trying to help. She doesn't tell me anything about herself, so how was I supposed to know she'd get so upset about it?"

"Well do you tell her anything about you?"

Riku glanced at Marluxia, who smirked slightly in return. He had asked the same question. "No. Because….its complicated. You know my past Kurai."

The girl shrugged. "What's your point? Look, just tell her more about yourself. If you open up, she'll open up, and you both can live happily ever after. Well, maybe not happily ever after, since you'd have to get past Xemnas first."

Riku gave the girl an annoyed look, before thinking about what she said. As he did that, Kurai glanced at Marluxia, who was looking slightly nervous. She was kind of curious as to what was going on with him. The nobody had been talking about confessing feelings for someone, but who? Better yet, how did he even have feelings to confess?

"You're right."

Kurai looked over at Riku. "Duh. About what?"

"About Lexi. If I wanna have any type of relationship with her, I need to be honest with her." The silver haired boy smiled slightly. "Wow, I can't believe I just got advice from you two."

Kurai watched as the boy opened a dark corridor, and disappeared, before turning back to the pink haired Nobody. "So you gonna tell me who you supposedly have feelings for yet?"

Marluxia tensed, looking slightly awkward. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right, or course you don't." the girl rolled her eyes, giving him an amused look. "Come on, just tell me. Who is it?"

"No one. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Of course it does. You just gotta know how to get her to like you, that's all." Kurai grinned as the Nobody gave her a confused look.

"Why are you helping me?"

Kurai paused, not sure why she was helping him herself. Maybe she was just bored and needed to do something to pass the time. "Don't know. I have nothing better to do."

Marluxia sighed. "Fine. Then what do you suggest I do?"

The dark haired girl hesitated, thinking. "Well, if you want the girl to like you, you don't wanna talk back to her. Some girls don't like that, and if you do it to the wrong one, it could end very badly for you." She smirked slightly, remembering the last fool who had talked back to her. She wondered vaguely if he was ever able to walk again. "You also don't wanna act too tough, since there are some girls who like to be stronger than their boyfriends. Oh, and don't call her weak, that's another way to get you killed, or worse. Make sure you treat her well and not like trash, but don't get too romantic and do cheesy things like buying flowers for no reason or saying something too cute it makes her want to barf. And lastly you don't want to act like a coward. It makes you seem weak."

Marluxia stared at the girl as she finished, trying to take in what she said. He wasn't ready for her to just start rattling on about things he should or shouldn't do. "Wait, you said to not act tough, but then at the end you said don't act like a coward. That's kind of contradictory don't you think?"

"Nope. Not acting tough and being a coward are two totally different things." Kurai grinned. "A girl wants a guy who isn't gonna act like a big macho man, but still be able to protect her if she needs it."

Marluxia watched her slightly amused, as she started rambling again about things he should or shouldn't do for a girl. Briefly he thought about what Riku had said. _No, just the one you're after._

The Nobody smiled slightly, as he continued to watch the girl in front of him. Yes. He might very well be after a ridiculous, hard headed, crazy girl.

* * *

"Are you okay sweetheart?"

Lexi blinked, coming out of her spiraling thoughts, as she heard that melodic voice. The one she should have heard her entire life. Lexi's mother was watching her concerned, and its no wonder why. The girl had frozen after seeing the older woman, and stood silently staring at her.

"I…yes, I'm fine." Lexi tried to smile, but she was so nervous she couldn't do it properly. So many thoughts were going through her head. The main thing was, that her father had lied to her. For 16 years he had told her her mother was dead, and everyone else went along with it. But here she was, standing right in front of the same woman from the picture on her dresser.

"If you're sure." Her mother said smiling. "But as I said, I'm getting ready to close."

"I-I'm sorry." Lexi stuttered. "I was just looking. I….I saw the flowers and thought they were really pretty."

Her mother smiled and fixed one of the flower pots, with beautiful purple flowers in it. "Thank you. I grow them myself. It's a hobby of mine." She glanced at the girl. "Where are your parents? You shouldn't be out this late alone."

"Oh um…its okay. M-my father's….around here somewhere." Lexi smiled slightly. "And my mother….died." She felt slight anger as she said those words. She still couldn't believe her father had lied to her. And she couldn't understand why.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm sure she was a wonderful woman." He mother said sadly.

Lexi nodded smiling. "My father says she was. I…I never met her."

"That's too bad. A girl needs her mother to help her get through the things fathers can't help with."

Lexi watched as her mother walked over to the counter. She followed slowly, hesitating before asking her next question. "Do….do you have any children?"

Her mother turned to her smiling. "No, not yet. I've always wanted a child though. I've just never found the right man."

The Half-Nobody knew her mother didn't remember her, but she couldn't help feeling slightly upset about it.

"What's your name, dear?" her mother asked.

"I-Its Lexi."

"Lexi?" her mother smiled. "That's a pretty name. I always wanted to name my daughter that, if I ever had one."

Lexi's eyes widened slightly. "Y-you did?"

Her mother nodded. "Yes. But as I said, I haven't had any children yet. Oh, and my name is Clara."

Clara. She finally knew her mother's name. "Its nice to meet you." She watched her mother a moment, before deciding to ask something. "So you said you haven't found the right guy yet….. does that mean you've never been in love?"

Clara smiled, remembering something from the past. "Actually I have, once. A long time ago."

"Really?" Lexi asked smiling. "What was he like?"

"He was the most wonderful man I had ever met. He was sweet, kind, funny. Everything I had ever wanted." Clara got a slightly confused, thoughtful look. "I….I can't really remember anything else about him."

Lexi stared at her confused. "What?"

Her mother was staring off into space, like she was trying to remember more about this man. "Its…all a blur….fuzzy. I can't even remember what he looks like." She looked down at Lexi, concentrating on her a moment, before smiling. "For some reason, I feel like you remind me of him. You're hair…and your eyes….."

Lexi blushed slightly, her eyes widening. Was this guy her mother was talking about really her father? _Sweet, kind, funny? _Those weren't words she thought of when she thought about her father.

Though there was something more important she was worried about. Why couldn't she remember anything? It was weird… Lexi remembered what Zexion had told her, about asking Vexen about her mother. What had that meant exactly?

"Are you okay?" Clara asked, watching Lexi who had been staring at her quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine." Lexi said, deciding she wanted to tell her mother the truth. She wanted her to know who she was. She wanted to be a normal teenage girl and be able to spend time with her mother. "I….I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" her mother asked, smiling slightly.

Lexi hesitated, trying to figure out how to start. "I-"

"There ya are. I've been looking all over for you."

Lexi froze, as Clara looked behind the girl at the newcomer. That voice….she was in so much trouble.

"I'm sorry, I'm closed." Clara said, as the person walked up to stand next to Lexi.

"Don't worry, I'm not buying anything. Just came to pick up the little runaway here." He said amused, placing his hand on Lexi's shoulder, causing her to tense.

Clara glanced at the Half-Nobody, who looked terrified. "And who are you?"

The guy grinned. "I'm her uncle. The name's Xigbar. Her father's been worried sick about her, so I was sent to take her home."

Lexi tried to swallow, but found it hard. If Xigbar was here, it meant her father knew where she was. Maybe that meant he'd have to confess he'd been lying to her this whole time.

"Well, she's been perfectly safe here with me." Clara said, smiling at Lexi.

Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, she's gotta go now. We'll be seeing you. Say goodbye to the nice woman, Lex."

Lexi glanced at Xigbar nervously, before smiling slightly at her mother. "Goodbye. It…it was nice meeting you."

"You too dear. Take care. And if your father gives you any trouble, let me know and I'll explain things to him." Clara smiled.

"Alrighty then, we're off. Lets go." Xigbar grabbed Lexi's arm, and steered her out of the shop.

Lexi glanced back at her mother, wanting to get one more look at her before she possibly never saw her again. She actually got to meet her mother, but it didn't seem like it. After all, how could you feel like you're actually around your mother when she didn't even remember you?

Lexi glanced up at Xigbar as he sighed frustrated. "Great, looks like Vexen's gonna have to pay her another visit. The potion's wearing off."

"What?" the girl asked confused. Potion?

"Xemnas is gonna reem us all a new one for letting you do this." Xigbar said ignoring her.

"I-I'm sorry…." Lexi said quietly.

"Yeah well, its Saix you'll have to apologize too. Not that it'll do any good." Xigbar said, as Lexi's heart stopped. Saix…. That was something she didn't want to deal with. "But you'll deal with your father first." The Nobody stopped walking and opened a dark corridor.

Lexi stared at it, knowing what was on the other side. She was probably going to be grounded for the rest of her life for this. And after that…..well, she couldn't even think about what Saix would do to her. Taking a deep breath, Lexi walked through the corridor, to what could possibly be her worst nightmare.

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**A/N: Well that's it for now! Please review and let us know what you think!**


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